The Trump administration’s ongoing war on science is having very real consequences for Canadian researchers and scientists. Here’s a high-level overview of what’s happened over the month of October.
Suppression of Evidence
Continued Attacks on Climate Science
Under the direction of US Energy Secretary and former oil executive Chris Wright, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has seriously escalated its coordinated attacks on climate science. At the start of the month, acting Director of External Affairs Rachel Overbey sent an email directive to DOE managers, instructing them to inform their teams on their new “list of words to avoid”, which contain terms including: “green”, “decarbonization” and “climate change”, were to be added to its “list of words to avoid”. The department has since denied these claims, despite the evidence that Politico reporters have obtained Overbey’s original directive issued to DOE staffers.
US Energy Department Suppresses Critical Facts in Latest Report
Additionally, a new analysis from Politico found that the latest DOE report suppressed critical facts on global warming, while simultaneously promoting debunked anti-climate science arguments, citing analyses not peer-reviewed, hand-picking outlier research, and leaving out important contextual information. This report succeeds the DOE’s previous publication from July, questioning the tenets of climate science.
More concerningly, this latest report fits within a continued push by US science-focused agencies to rollback climate regulations and undermine climate science, including the US Interior Department’s announcement on October 17 to launch oil and gas extraction across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, the EPA’s June regulatory rollbacks used to undermine the 2009 Endangerment Finding, and Trump’s decision to sink the global shipping climate tax.
Several US Agencies Now Issuing Partisan Messaging
A new concerning development is the open usage of partisan messaging by US federal agencies through official channels – an act that critics are claiming violates US federal law. As a result, multiple federal science and health departments are now openly promoting partisan messaging in favour of the Trump administration. Earlier in October, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued on its official X account direct partisan messaging, labelling events as the “Democrat-led government shutdown” while praising the Trump administration’s efforts. This post was later reposted by the official US National Institutes of Health (NIH) Twitter account. Furthermore, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) official X account repeatedly posted anti-vaccine statements from its Advisory Committee on Vaccination members, including those that openly contest the efficacy of vaccinations and promote misinformation.
This move follows a growing trend of politicizing US federal agencies to align and promote the priorities and ideology of the Trump administration. Of the 15 executive departments in Trump’s Cabinet, at least 10 have posted messages in October blaming both Democrats and the “radical left” for the ongoing US government shutdown. Others include the US Department of Veteran Affairs, which issued its official weekly newsletter blaming Senate Democrats for the federal shutdown “due to unrelated policy demands”; as well as the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, which displayed on its official website: “The Radical Left are going to…inflict massive pain on the American people”. Critics, such as US House Representative Jamie Raskin, have issued statements claiming these messages violate the US Federal Hatch Act, which expressly bans partisan activity in the federal workplace.
Attacks on Academia
Trump Launches New Extortion Scheme Against U.S. Universities
The Trump administration initiated a new wave of attacks on U.S. higher education, issuing its “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” to nine leading US post-secondary institutions, including MIT, Brown, and the University of Virginia. The compact promises preferential treatment in grant applications if institutions agree to Trump’s demands for control over tuition policy, internal governance, international student enrolments, academic content, and campus life, while threatening to cut billions in federal funding if institutions refuse the compact.
This move follows the Trump administration’s initial series of attacks against US higher education, marked by a threatening letter issued to 60 leading US universities back in March, as well as billions of dollars in federal research funding cuts (which were later deemed illegal by multiple federal court rulings). The Trump administration also continues to persecute previously targeted institutions, with Harvard (one of the first targeted by Trump) now facing a potential permanent ban on federal funding – in retribution for its defiance of Trump’s demands.
Slashing Federal Service
Thousands of Federal Workers Fired During Government Shutdown
Following the start of the US government shutdown on 1 October, tens of thousands of federal workers across dozens of federal departments were laid off or targeted for layoffs, initially including three-quarters of all NIH staff, and two-thirds of all CDC staff.
Besides pausing critical services, regulatory work, and program operations (including freezing reviews of NIH grant applications), the government shutdown marked a new effort by the Trump administration (called “Reductions in Force” or RIFs) to fire thousands of federal workers permanently – a policy that even the Trump regime has admitted is a political move to escalate pressure on US Democrats.
Leading up to October, White House Budget Director Russell Vought ordered federal agencies to draw up plans for large-scale firings of workers in the event of a government shutdown. Starting on 10 Oct, Vought announced over 4,200 federal workers across key departments (including Education, Treasury, Housing, Health, and Energy) would be targeted for RIF layoffs. The following evening, US Health Secretary Kennedy dismissed more than 1,000 scientists, doctors, and public health officials working at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Despite several federal court orders banning these mass RIF layoffs, the US Department of the Interior (DOI) has continued with RIF firings – a policy which directly violates US federal law. On 17 October, US Energy Secretary Wright announced thousands of nuclear weapons workers would be terminated, a move followed by the US Interior Department’s 21 October announcement to cut 2,050 EPA workers critical to conservation and environmental protection efforts. According to CNN, the total number of federal workers laid off or targeted for RIFs is 51,224.
Given the ongoing battle between the Trump administration and the US justice system over RIFs, it remains to be seen (1) the full scale of these layoffs, and (2) how permanent these disruptions will ultimately be on US science and research.
Policy Reversals & Pushback
However, all was not bad news. Here are the news stories we found showing encouraging stakeholder pushback and policy reversals.
Major Pushback from Targeted Universities Against Trump Demands
Despite facing significant pressure from the Trump administration, all nine of the targeted higher education institutions have since rejected the Trump “compact”. This pushback has prompted the Trump administration to attempt a softer tone, having extended an invitation to all targeted institutions to meet at the White House and discuss the terms.
US Federal Court Judge Bans Trump’s Mass Firings
On 17 October, US District Court Judge Susan Illston issued a temporary restraining order to stop the Trump administration from conducting any “reductions in force” (RIFs) firings of federal workers during the government shutdown, warning that “it’s a human cost that cannot be tolerated”. The order also blocks any further action on RIF notices that have already been issued. Several days later, US Judge Illston expanded the order to protect a wider range of government workers from the RIF firings.
Another Major Win for Harvard Against the Trump Administration
On 9 October, US Federal Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs rejected the Trump administration’s appeal to further extend the deadline to restore over $3 billion USD in cut federal funding to Harvard. This decision was then followed by Judge Burroughs’ final ruling on 20 October in favour of Harvard University, confirming that the Trump administration must unilaterally restore all previously cut research grants to Harvard.
These legal rulings follow Harvard’s first successful legal victory last September against the Trump administration, in which Judge Burroughs ruled that the Trump administration launched an “ideologically-motivated assault” against Harvard when it slashed billions in research funding. Those are our main highlights for October 2025 from our Trump’s War on Science tracker. What items would you like to see in future editions? Connect with us at info@evidencefordemocracy.ca