Science and Research Cuts Issue Explainer
5 Things to Know About the War on Knowledge That’s Making Us Less Safe
From pediatric cancer research to respiratory vaccine funding to fueling the worst measles epidemic in decades—the safety of our families and our kids is under assault by rank incompetence and cruel indifference.
Medical research cuts. Since the beginning of 2025, major cuts have been made to scientific and medical research. These cuts imperil research into finding cures for diseases, and they affect all Americans: nearly 1 in 30 clinical trials to find cures to cancer and infectious diseases have been interrupted, over 160 clinical trials have ended, including for pediatric brain cancer. Make no mistake, this will cost lives and the effects on medical research and treatment will reverberate for decades.
5,000 kids every year. That’s the number of children diagnosed with brain tumors, many of whom rely on clinical trials and cutting edge research for treatment and have been ruthlessly targeted by these irresponsible budget cuts. For example, due to the federal cuts, Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium, a respected network of researchers and hospitals stopped taking new child patients in 2025.
Cuts are creating chaos. All told, the changes threatened, disrupted, and ended clinical trials for over 74,000 patients. Thousands of workers from the FDA, CDC, and NIH were laid off, including those who track, research, and help prevent disease epidemics, deadly food contamination, and unsafe pharmaceuticals from harming us and our families.
Even more attempted cuts. The administration attempted to cut 50% of the CDC’s funding, $18 billion from the NIH budget, and $2 billion worth of vital mental health and addiction grants.
Brain drain. The administration is directing its racist mass deportation campaign at tens of thousands of doctors and researchers who come to the United States and contribute immensely to the field of medicine. All the while, The federal agencies trusted with researching, implementing and encouraging vaccinations are now full of anti-vaccine activists instead of qualified professionals. The health and safety of all of us and our families is being placed at risk in the name of a racist deportation agenda, dangerous conspiracies, and reckless budget cuts.
The cruel indifference by this Administration towards its own people underlines how hollow and cynical the use of public safety
For more information see https://www.wearesafety.info/.