President Donald Trump and his administration downsized US science by historic margins last year as it reduced the workforce at federal research agencies by tens of thousands of people and terminated thousands of research grants. But another set of cutbacks in federal science has drawn less attention. Across the government, the administration terminated more than 100 independent advisory panels, comprising university scientists and other outside experts who help to guide national science priorities. The cuts ' driven by a February 2025 executive order aimed at shrinking federal bureaucracy ' target committees that agencies rely on to assess biomedical and environmental policy, provide guidance on setting research priorities and ensure transparency in how the government makes science-based decisions. The scope of these committee terminations is unprecedented, a Nature analysis finds (see 'Cancelled committees'). For example, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which...
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