Policy News Headlines
Last updated Feb. 13, 2025
ESA is tracking the latest developments in science policy and news for the ecological science community. This page is updated periodically to bring you current news headlines.
Use the links below to jump to headlines organized by sector.
Executive Branch
A sweeping spending freeze is paused by the courts before being withdrawn, a flurry of executive orders targets DEI and other initiatives from the previous administration, and efforts to shrink the federal workforce face pushback from unions and the courts.
Congress
Committees of the 119th Congress get to work, Congressional Democrats protest the new administration’s actions, and confirmation hearings and voting continue for nominees to fill Trump’s cabinet.
Federal Agencies
Science agencies pause some operations and grant reviews while NSF and NOAA revisit existing awards, a move to slash NIH overhead payments to research institutions is temporarily paused by the courts, and multiple agencies scrub mention of DEI from their websites.
Informational Resources
Trackers, government websites and other sources of information on science policy developments.
NSF starts vetting all grants to comply with Trump’s orders — ScienceInsider from AAAS
By Jeffrey Mervis
01/30/2025 06:15 PM EST
Executive Branch
Feb. 13, 2025
Feb. 12, 2025
- Climate reports vanish from federal science program website — Politico
- Oil and gas advocate named by Trump to lead agency that manages federal lands — Associated Press
Feb. 6, 2025
- Federal judge pauses Trump federal worker buyouts — The Hill
- Trump policies sow chaos, confusion across scientific community — Washington Post
- Trump team junks a major nature study — E&E News from Politico
- Trump admin halts NOAA-sponsored studies as DOGE work speeds up — E&E News from Politico
Feb. 4, 2025
- Trump picks Neil Jacobs to lead NOAA — E&E News from Politico
- Union sues over Trump buyout offer — The Hill
Jan. 30, 2025
- Trump Spending Freezes Sow Confusion Among Researchers — FYI from AIP
- Related: The OMB memo (M-25-13)
Older Headlines About the Executive Branch
- 1/29/2025: Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans — Associated Press
- 1/28/2025: Trump’s funding freeze sends shock waves across energy, environmental agencies — E&E News from Politico
- 1/24/2025: Trump signals AI focus for science advisory council — E&E News from Politico
- 1/22/2025: Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring — ScienceInsider from AAAS
- 1/21/2025: Key directives in Trump DEI executive order for government, private sector —Reuters
- 1/17/2025: Trump’s science advisers: how they could influence his second presidency — Nature
Congress
Feb. 13, 2025
- Senate confirms RFK Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary — CNN
- National lab funding freeze gets some GOP sympathy — E&E News from Politico
Feb. 12, 2025
- Republicans reup bill to dismantle Biden public lands rule — E&E News from Politico
Feb. 10, 2025
- House Republicans set their sights on national labs — E&E News from Politico
- Related: Watch the Feb. 12 hearing here
- Kennedy, Gabbard nominations top this week’s congressional to-do list — Roll Call
Feb. 6, 2025
- Tonko Introduces Bipartisan Scientific Integrity Act — Press release
Feb. 4, 2025
Feb. 3, 2025
- Trump Energy, budget picks set for Senate confirmation — E&E News from Politico
Jan. 30, 2025
- Senate confirms Doug Burgum as interior secretary after Trump tasked him to boost drilling — Associated Press
Older Headlines About Congress
- 1/29/2025: Senate confirms Zeldin to be EPA administrator — The Hill
- 1/29/2025: Lutnick says he won’t dismantle NOAA as called for in Project 2025 — The Hill
- 1/28/2025: Democrats declare ‘constitutional crisis’ on funding freeze — Politico
Federal Agencies
Feb. 10, 2025
Feb. 9, 2025
Feb. 7, 2025
- NIH slashes overhead payments for research, sparking outrage and lawsuit — ScienceInsider from AAAS
- Science Agencies Brace for Mass Layoffs — FYI from AIP
Feb. 6, 2025
- Trump moves to shutter environmental offices across the government — Washington Post
- Democrats escalate attacks as Trump EPA holds back climate spending — Politico
Feb. 4, 2025
- NSF reexamines existing awards to comply with Trump’s directives — ScienceInsider from AAAS
- Science funding agency threatened with mass layoffs — Politico
Feb. 2, 2025
- National Science Foundation restores payments after five-day pause, but worries over science funding persist — STAT News
Jan. 30, 2025
- EXCLUSIVE: NSF starts vetting all grants to comply with Trump’s orders — ScienceInsider from AAAS
Older Headlines About Federal Agencies
- 1/28/2025: NSF Cancels Grant Reviews to ‘Ensure Compliance’ With Trump’s Executive Orders — Inside Higher Ed
- 1/28/2025: EPA fires science advisers — Politico
- 1/27/2025: After disruption due to Trump administration communication pause, NIH told it can continue some purchasing for research — CNN
- 1/24/2025: Scientists Worried After Trump Halts NIH Grant Reviews — Inside Higher Ed
- 1/24/2025: Science Agencies Disband DEI Initiatives in Response to Trump Orders — FYI from AIP
- 1/23/2025: Here’s How Science Funding Could Change Under Trump — The Chronicle of Higher Education
- 1/22/2025: NSF invests $40M to strengthen STEM research capacity and workforce development across five EPSCoR jurisdictions — NSF press release
Informational Resources
- NSF Implementation of Recent Executive Orders
- Latest memos from the Office of Personnel Management
- Akin Executive Order Tracker
- American Institute of Physics’ FYI science policy news & analysis
- EJToday daily digest of environment/energy news
- UC San Diego Library’s U.S. Government Information: Weekly Roundup
This page is produced by the Public Affairs Office of the Ecological Society of America. ESA’s policy activities work to infuse ecological knowledge into national policy decisions through activities such as policy statements, Capitol Hill briefings, Congressional Visits Days and coalition involvement.
Send questions or comments to Alison Mize, Director of Public Affairs, or Mayda Nathan, Public Affairs Manager.
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