Trump dismantles US scientific research
The gist
The Trump administration has cut or frozen up to $174 billion in federal grants since his second term began.
Researchers are leaving the US, and courts are weighing whether some grant terminations were unlawful.
How it unfolded
- 2025The administration begins overhauling federal research funding, and DOGE engineers sweeping job cuts and grant cancellations.
- 2025Research grants from the EPA, NSF and NEH to University of California researchers are ended, leading to the Trump v. Thakur case.
- Oct 27, 2026The Los Angeles Times reports researchers are leaving the US over funding cuts and the politicization of science.