Impact of Executive Orders on Scientific Institutions

The Trump administration implemented measures that significantly affected scientific institutions by instituting communication blackouts and restricting funding. These actions led to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) experiencing heightened confusion and fear, as employees could not communicate with external stakeholders. As a result, NIH announced a controversial cap on indirect costs that was met with strong opposition from the research community, as it threatened to cripple vital medical research. Throughout these changes, many researchers expressed concern about the long-term implications for U.S. science and how such measures could dismantle over decades of established scientific progress.