Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    College Advising
    Serving Higher Ed
    Chronicle Festival 2025
Sign In
Research

Freeze on Federal Activities Gives Scientists a Chill

By Paul Basken January 26, 2017
In the opening days of the Trump administration, reports of a clampdown on grants and communications at the EPA and other agencies alarmed researchers. Some of those orders are being walked back, but long-term questions remain. Above, environmental activists unfurled a banner from a crane at a construction site near the White House on Wednesday.
In the opening days of the Trump administration, reports of a clampdown on grants and communications at the EPA and other agencies alarmed researchers. Some of those orders are being walked back, but long-term questions remain. Above, environmental activists unfurled a banner from a crane at a construction site near the White House on Wednesday.Andrew Harnik, AP Images

Shelly L. Miller’s next research project doesn’t seem overtly political. A professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, she hopes to study ways of helping homeowners affected by mold and dampness.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

In the opening days of the Trump administration, reports of a clampdown on grants and communications at the EPA and other agencies alarmed researchers. Some of those orders are being walked back, but long-term questions remain. Above, environmental activists unfurled a banner from a crane at a construction site near the White House on Wednesday.
In the opening days of the Trump administration, reports of a clampdown on grants and communications at the EPA and other agencies alarmed researchers. Some of those orders are being walked back, but long-term questions remain. Above, environmental activists unfurled a banner from a crane at a construction site near the White House on Wednesday.Andrew Harnik, AP Images

Shelly L. Miller’s next research project doesn’t seem overtly political. A professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, she hopes to study ways of helping homeowners affected by mold and dampness.

But given the state of politics in Washington, Ms. Miller is hesitating on seeking a new grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to look into the matter. “Who knows,” she said. “They may not want to fund that type of research any more.”

It’s a concern that arose after the election of President Trump last November, and now — less than a week into the administration — is being amplified by various reports of a freeze on grants, new regulations and even public discussions by government agencies and officials.

The reported new limits on science, experts say, are of more concern than putting the brakes on some government activities soon after a presidential transition.

There’s a lot that’s unknown about the new Trump administration’s policies, and some of them already appear to be shifting. Administration officials initially spoke of a freeze on research grants at several agencies, including the EPA and Department of Agriculture, along with a ban on tweets or other social-media comments by agency officials, and a halt in any regulatory changes, even those already approved.

Then, under pressure from members of Congress and an array of critics outside the government, some of those changes are reportedly getting walked back, now described as temporary, or clarified to be less sweeping than they initially appeared.

The EPA made clear that current grants would not be blocked, and that plans to delete climate-change references from the agency’s website had been reversed. The administration’s nominee for secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross, said that scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would be allowed to publicly share peer-reviewed findings.

And some experts outside Mr. Trump’s Republican Party have acknowledged that certain types of temporary clampdowns on governmental activities are within the range of normal for the immediate aftermath of a presidential transition.

But given the long list of statements by Mr. Trump raising doubts about his acceptance of key scientific understandings, both as a candidate and since taking office last Friday, and his selection of others with similar views to staff his cabinet, the reported new limits on science are raising alarm.

Rookie Mistakes?

For now, said Rush D. Holt, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, it appears to be the case of an administration comprised of officials with little experience in government not being clear about what exactly they’re doing.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mr. Holt, a former university scientist and former Democratic congressman from New Jersey, said the situation is reminiscent of the Trump team’s order prior to the inauguration — later rescinded after a public outcry — for the Energy Department to list the names of any staff who had been involved in climate conferences.

“I would like to believe that that was just a beginner’s mistake,” he said of the Energy Department order. “And I would like to believe that this is just another beginner’s mistake,” he said of the restrictions on grants and communications.

Either way, however, the scientific community should be sure to loudly protest, to ensure there’s no consideration of making such conditions permanent, Mr. Holt said.

More concerning for the longer term, he said, could be the total absence of anyone with scientific credentials or even a demonstrated appreciation of science among the list of top administration officials named so far. That could prove dangerous, Mr. Holt said, once the nation faces a real crisis — such as a major oil spill, or a serious disease outbreak — and the administration finds it has no experts to consult.

ADVERTISEMENT

A former EPA lawyer who served at the agency during the last presidential transition, Grant MacIntyre, said the public concern now seems heightened because the ban on government communications seemed so broad.

It’s hard to make clear comparisons with the past, said Mr. MacIntyre, now a clinical assistant professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh, because social media wasn’t the same dominant presence eight years ago. But the American public has grown accustomed to agencies tweeting advice and observations, largely nonpolitical fare, and “it seems abrupt to see that end,” he said.

Mr. MacIntyre, a former special assistant to the general counsel at EPA, said a presidential transition “is always a difficult time in an agency,” with no set pattern. Among staffers still at the EPA, the more experienced seem to be saying, “This comes with the territory,” he said. “And perhaps some of the newer employees, experiencing their first transition, could be a bit more concerned about it.”

Mostly, Ms. Miller said, the EPA staff seems unsure what to say. She is nearing the end of a three-year, $1 million EPA grant to study how homes insulated to save energy affect the quality of air inside, and she visited the agency’s Washington headquarters last month with other EPA-funded scientists to present their findings.

ADVERTISEMENT

The event went well, but even then EPA staff were tight-lipped about their future. “We were trying to get them to tell us — ‘How you doing?’, ‘What’s going on?’ — and nobody would really say anything,” she said.

Ms. Miller has to decide next month whether to come back to those same EPA officials for more money to study household mold. “I’m hopeful, but I haven’t yet talked to them” about the new grant idea, she said. “I don’t know.”

Paul Basken covers university research and its intersection with government policy. He can be found on Twitter @pbasken, or reached by email at paul.basken@chronicle.com.

A version of this article appeared in the February 3, 2017, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
Paul Basken Bio
About the Author
Paul Basken
Paul Basken was a government policy and science reporter with The Chronicle of Higher Education, where he won an annual National Press Club award for exclusives.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Content

‘Uncharted Waters’ for Higher Education in the Trump Era
Why a ‘Guerrilla Archiving’ Project Seeks to Preserve Climate Data Before Trump Takes Office
Awaiting Trump, Scientists Are Caught Between Hope and Fear
Research Universities Hope Trump’s Infrastructure Plans Could Be a Boon to High-Speed Communications

More News

Vector illustration of large open scissors  with several workers in seats dangling by white lines
Iced Out
Duke Administrators Accused of Bypassing Shared-Governance Process in Offering Buyouts
Illustration showing money being funnelled into the top of a microscope.
'A New Era'
Higher-Ed Associations Pitch an Alternative to Trump’s Cap on Research Funding
Illustration showing classical columns of various heights, each turning into a stack of coins
Endowment funds
The Nation’s Wealthiest Small Colleges Just Won a Big Tax Exemption
WASHINGTON, DISTICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES - 2025/04/14: A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator holding a sign with Release Mahmud Khalil written on it, stands in front of the ICE building while joining in a protest. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally in front of the ICE building, demanding freedom for Mahmoud Khalil and all those targeted for speaking out against genocide in Palestine. Protesters demand an end to U.S. complicity and solidarity with the resistance in Gaza. (Photo by Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Campus Activism
An Anonymous Group’s List of Purported Critics of Israel Helped Steer a U.S. Crackdown on Student Activists

From The Review

John T. Scopes as he stood before the judges stand and was sentenced, July 2025.
The Review | Essay
100 Years Ago, the Scopes Monkey Trial Discovered Academic Freedom
By John K. Wilson
Vector illustration of a suited man with a pair of scissors for a tie and an American flag button on his lapel.
The Review | Opinion
A Damaging Endowment Tax Crosses the Finish Line
By Phillip Levine
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan keeps his emotions in check during a news conference, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 in Charlottesville. Va. Authorities say three people have been killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at the University of Virginia and a student is in custody. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The Review | Opinion
Jim Ryan’s Resignation Is a Warning
By Robert Zaretsky

Upcoming Events

07-31-Turbulent-Workday_assets v2_Plain.png
Keeping Your Institution Moving Forward in Turbulent Times
Ascendium_Housing_Plain.png
What It Really Takes to Serve Students’ Basic Needs: Housing
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin