Washington, DC — Lev Facher reports on STAT that, while the Trump White House still doesn’t have a top science adviser, it does have a science fair in the works.
A White House official said on April 21 that the science fair, an annual tradition started by former President Barack Obama in 2010, will continue under President Trump. No date has been finalized.
The news came just ahead of a science-centric weekend in Washington.
As part of the March for Science, thousands descended on the National Mall and at satellite marches around the country on April 22 to promote evidence-based policymaking and stress the importance of federally funded basic science research.
While organizers stressed that the event was nonpartisan, it was widely viewed as a rebuke of the current administration, whose policies on climate change and other issues have generated controversy.
A White House official said on April 21 that the science fair, an annual tradition started by former President Barack Obama in 2010, will continue under President Trump. No date has been finalized.
The news came just ahead of a science-centric weekend in Washington.
As part of the March for Science, thousands descended on the National Mall and at satellite marches around the country on April 22 to promote evidence-based policymaking and stress the importance of federally funded basic science research.
While organizers stressed that the event was nonpartisan, it was widely viewed as a rebuke of the current administration, whose policies on climate change and other issues have generated controversy.
Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and one of his key advisers, has advocated alongside Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for increased youth engagement in STEM fields.
However, other signs about Trump’s commitment to science have been less comforting for the scientific community.
His 2018 budget blueprint included a $5.8 billion cut from budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and even congressional Republicans balked at his desire to cut an additional $1.2 billion from the still-unresolved 2017 budget.
Beyond funding, science advocates have expressed concern that the administration has not yet appointed a director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
For the full story, click here.
Follow Facher on Twitter @levfacher.
Follow STAT — which reports from the frontiers of medical innovation and science — on Twitter @statnews.
However, other signs about Trump’s commitment to science have been less comforting for the scientific community.
His 2018 budget blueprint included a $5.8 billion cut from budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and even congressional Republicans balked at his desire to cut an additional $1.2 billion from the still-unresolved 2017 budget.
Beyond funding, science advocates have expressed concern that the administration has not yet appointed a director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
For the full story, click here.
Follow Facher on Twitter @levfacher.
Follow STAT — which reports from the frontiers of medical innovation and science — on Twitter @statnews.
