The Office of Science & Technology Policy was Built to Advise, not Obey
The Politicization of OSTP
Created under the Ford administration, for nearly half a century the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has served as a neutral, science-based advisor to the President. Led by career scientists, OSTP has ensured that the US served as a guide-star for biomedical research, climate science, space exploration and public health.
But under the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, the GOP’s blueprint that reshapes the United States to conform to a far-right landscape, OSTP is being weaponized.
Under Trump Rev 2., OSTP will be cultivated, not to empower science, but to subjugate it. The goal is explicit: align the activities of federal scientists to a political agenda. The first steps have already been taken.
In March, 2025, Michael Kratsios was appointed Director of OSTP with a bipartisan vote of 74 in favor and 25 against. Mr. Kratsios is the first Director in the office’s history who does not have a PhD. Mr. Kratsios has a BA in Politics. He has no scientific training, no peer-reviewed publications, and no research experience in any branch of science.
On May 5, OSTP took its first hostile step in the form of Executive Order 14292. EO14292 bans federal funding of the research required for the development of the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments for HIV. EO14292 also gives the White House veto power over non-federally funded research domains. This is fucking nuts! Yesterday, aligned with EO14292, the Trump administration withdrew $766M that Congress allocated to Moderna to make a vaccine against H5N1.
With a weaponized OSTP the Trump administration will leverage Schedule F to remove federal scientists at the NIH, NSF, DoD, CDC, NASA, NOAA and replace them with loyalists. The effects of a weaponized OSTP will be far reaching. It will ensure that the administration’s anti-abortion, anti-vaccination, anti-climate, anti-LGBTQ mental health are codified. Diversity in research will be dismantled. Biotech will be stifled. Renewable energies research? Forget it. Endangered species? Heighten the threat. And if Schedule F employees can’t do the trick then an Executive order penned on May 23rd will leverage the Information Quality Act to suppress any scientific findings that conflict with the administrations goals.
I don’t know why this community is so reluctant to help itself. Your institutions are under siege. Your grants are being cut. Your liberties are being threatened. What needs to happen in order for you to act?
History offers a stark warning. There are grim consequences when governments force science to serve ideology. The suppression of HIV research under South Africa’s government cost hundreds of thousands of lives. The rejection of genetics under Stalin led to famine in Russia. How close are we to becoming North Korea and the complete centralization of scientific messaging?
The tectonic plates shifted on January 20th, 2025 at 12pm. The tsunami is beginning to form. I think, at this point, it’s inescapable: we retreat to high ground. Contact your senators and state representatives. But I also need you to send an email to the Dean of Research and the Chairman of your department and the Executive Director of the Scientific Society that you belong to – and don’t worry, I’m going to draft the email for you. All you have to do is grow a pair, copy and paste, and send it.
We need to defend the Federal Institution that protects scientific freedom. We have to ensure that OSTP remains what it was created to be: an advisor to power, not its servant.
Here’s the ask.
To preserve OSTP’s integrity we need to pass legislation requiring OSTP directors to have scientific credentials. This requires a call or email to your congressperson. Easy peasy. 202-224-3121 “Dude! OSTP director needs to have a graduate-level STEM or health degree, FFS” – “FFS” is optional. My congressman is an idiot, so he may think “FFS” is an actual degree…
Resurrect and Pass the Scientific Integrity Act. This is a call to Paul Tonko, 202-225-5076. Be good and also call your state rep and senator and let them know you’re all about this legislation. “Hey, Paul, I need you to giddy-up on HR4893. OSTP is under siege. We need to ensure that federal scientists are protected from political interference.”
Ban the Use of Schedule F – another call to your congressperson – Banning Schedule F prevents mass firings of the good guys and politicization of scientific agencies.
Pressure Scientific Societies to Speak Up – I know you guys are members of a scientific society, AAAS, SfN, ASCB, APA, AMA, Sigma Xi, IEEE, ARVO, whatever. This is easy. Please, send this email
Dear {President/Executive Director},
As a member of (whatever society) I am writing to express my concern about the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The OSTP is being remodeled to become a vehicle for political control. The details are outlined in Project 2025.
I urge (whatever society) to please issue a public statement defending the independence of OSTP, support for the Scientific Integrity Act (HR4893), and a call for credentialed OSTP leadership.
Science must remain grounded in evidence, not politics. I appreciate you leadership on this urgent matter and look forward to seeing our organization take a stand for science.
Sincerely,