Imagine scientific research in the United States as a high-performance engine—precision-tuned, fueled by curiosity, and turbocharged with innovation. For decades, this engine has powered global leadership in science and technology.
Federal science investments have been crucial in developing life-saving technologies such as early warning systems for tsunamis and storms, diagnostic tests and vaccines, the early internet, and cell phones.
But now, that high-performance engine is being stripped, fuel lines severed, and the ignition system—our research infrastructure and scientific integrity—is deeply rattled. The Trump administration’s 2026 budget proposal, which calls for disproportionately large cuts to federal science and research funding, could take the engine out of commission for the foreseeable future.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) faces a proposed 57% cut, threatening thousands of university research grants and jeopardizing the pipeline of future scientists. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s premier biomedical research agency, would lose nearly 43% of its funding. NASA’s science programs face a 47% reduction, imperiling dozens of missions.
Trump’s proposed cuts are a direct assault on the innovation engine that has kept America competitive, resilient, and visionary.
One of the most alarming casualties is the federal government and external scientists’ ability to use science to address the existential threat of climate change. Science can and must be used to mitigate its impacts and keep people safe and our planet healthy. Our wellbeing and prosperity depend on it.
Pulling the plug on climate and clean energy progress
The Trump administration wants to eliminate completely NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. This cut prevents climate labs from providing long-term observations and research that emergency responders rely on for storm and wildfire warnings. This cut would also mean shutting down the Mauna Loa Observatory, which has tracked atmospheric carbon dioxide since 1958 and produced the iconic Keeling Curve, which alerted us to the first definitive evidence of human-driven climate change.
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) faces a 74% cut, threatening research on solar, wind, battery storage, and energy-efficient buildings. These are not fringe research projects—they are the backbone of America’s clean energy transition.
The cuts to climate science are akin to removing the dashboard from a speeding car—preventing us from knowing the speed and intensity of climate-change impacts barreling toward rural and urban communities alike. The cuts to renewable energy research are akin to removing the car’s advanced cooling system, preventing the engine from handling increased temperatures and stresses.
Farmers flying blind
Climate change is already disrupting agriculture and food supply. A recent study in Nature warns that heat waves and drought could collapse staple crops like corn and soybean, even after accounting for producer adaptations to climate change. The scale and scope of innovations needed rely on robust climate modeling. Yet the Trump administration has deleted the legally required, highly valuable, and widely used Fifth National Climate Assessment and dismantled the forthcoming Sixth National Climate Assessment, while slashing NOAA’s satellite programs.
Farmers need accurate seasonal forecasts to decide what to plant and when. Without data from satellites and ocean buoys, those forecasts become guesswork.
Slamming the brakes on clean transportation
The Trump administration’s budget proposes canceling $6 billion for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, rolling back fuel economy standards, and slashing research into clean transportation technologies.
This isn’t just bad for public health and the environment—it’s bad for business. The EV industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the US, creating tens of thousands of jobs. Cutting funding now cedes American leadership on EV technology—and the associated economic opportunities—to other countries, right when it is most needed.
Attacks on a precision-tuned machine
At the heart of every scientific innovation is unparalleled expertise, data, and computational capacity. These components are held together with scientific integrity, which ensures the highest professional standards in all aspects of science. Principles of objectivity, transparency, and accountability ensure that the science underpinning innovation is trustworthy.
In ongoing attacks on science, however, the Trump administration has eliminated science advisory committees across the federal government including the Federal Advisory Committee for Science Quality and Integrity. Trump also introduced an executive order that weakens protections against political interference in federal science.
America’s innovation engine has always been resilient. But engines need maintenance and fuel. The Trump administration’s budget is not a tune-up—it’s a teardown. If Congress allows these cuts to stand, the United States risks stalling out just as the global race for clean energy, climate resilience, and technological leadership accelerates.
It’s time to wrestle the car keys from the Trump administration before we are run off the road to our peril.