But for career researchers, it felt like a blackout.
Scientists and policy experts who raised concerns found themselves reassigned, sidelined, or pushed out.
One longtime Department of Energy official told the Washington Post, “We were told to bury anything that mentioned climate projections, even if it was already publicly funded research.”
Tensions with the courts escalated too.
Judges who blocked deregulation orders or censorship moves were attacked online and name-checked at rallies.
Some court rulings protecting public access to data were simply ignored.
“He doesn’t think courts should matter if they’re wrong.” — White House aide to Politico (Brookings, Politico)
In a free country, science and law are supposed to stand apart from politics.
Now, both have been pulled into the same orbit — and facts themselves have become harder to find.
Shifting America’s Place in the World
Foreign policy has shifted fast too.
Military aid to Ukraine has slowed dramatically.
The U.S. has withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement.
Budgets for humanitarian programs have been slashed. (Carnegie Endowment, Reuters)
Longtime allies in Europe have started planning without American leadership.
Some officials now call it “a strategic realignment” — a polite way of saying they no longer count on the U.S. the way they once did.
Free Speech — or Selective Speech?
Back home, a new executive order targeted foreign students involved in campus protests.
Those accused of promoting “radical ideologies” could face deportation.
“We will find you, and will deport you,” Trump said about foreign students protesting on campus. (NPR)
What counted as “radical” wasn’t clearly defined.
Foreign student visas were revoked and then restored. It’s enough to dissuade the best foreign students from coming to America.