Opinion: Trump administration's assault on science risks harming America itself
A Guardian columnist warns that the Trump administration's efforts to subject science to political control and restrict international academic cooperation will ultimately damage the United States. He argues new funding rules and visa restrictions threaten America's scientific standing and global influence.
Guardian columnist and Princeton politics professor Jan-Werner Müller writes that the Trump administration is conducting an unprecedented campaign against science and higher education institutions in the US, which he compares to Soviet-era subjugation of science to political control.
Control over federal funding
Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought has proposed a rule making all federal science grants subject to review by political appointees, rather than being awarded based on scientific merit. This would give the administration a tool to pressure universities through the threat of withholding funds.
Shifting decisions to the private sector
Trump's science adviser Michael Kratsios has proposed shifting research decision-making from university experts to private corporations, aided by artificial intelligence. The author notes this would abandon the postwar US model in which government funded open-ended basic research that private companies would be unwilling to risk supporting themselves.
Ideological pressure and visa limits
Education Secretary Linda McMahon is asking university presidents to publicly pledge support for administration priorities, including policing campus protests and reducing critical content in education. Meanwhile, visas for PhD students have been limited to four years, creating difficulties for international students pursuing degrees in the US.
The author concludes that this agenda is driven by a diverse coalition, ranging from traditional opponents of higher education to Silicon Valley figures hoping to replace university functions with corporate ones. Congress has not fully backed all proposed funding cuts, and some rules are reportedly being blocked in Senate negotiations, but the author stresses that university leaders and scientists must continue resisting the pressure.
