A new executive order signed by President Donald Trump — if implemented — would grant political appointees sweeping authority over federal grant funding. The executive order has been met with universal criticism from scientists and research advocates, saying it will replace scientific merit with ideological loyalty to the Trump administration.
Evans called the executive order "a direct attack on scientific integrity at federal agencies."
"The executive order is the latest in a nonstop campaign from the Trump administration to make the [research] environment for young scientists in America as hostile as possible," Evans said. "At worst, it could turn off the flow of funding to any area of research that Trump or his appointees don't like or believe are counter to 'American values'."
Rare earths are needed for everything from consumer electronics to electric vehicles, wind turbines and fighter jets – and China controls the supply chain. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Evans highlights this as China's strongest leverage point and cautions that U.S. visa restrictions and anti-China policies risk driving away Chinese scientific talent, aiding Beijing's push for technological self-reliance. Evans adds that this trend could harm long-standing U.S.-China scientific collaboration and predicted that U.S. controls may not significantly weaken China’s lead in rare earth processing or its broader tech ambitions.
The Trump administration’s move to slash science funding ran into a roadblock as the Senate Committee on Appropriations voted 19-10 on Thursday to keep funding for the National Science Foundation and other federal science agencies nearly intact for the 2026 fiscal year. Evans and fellow research advocates were encouraged by lawmakers’ willingness to break with Trump, who has proposed cutting the NSF’s budget by more than half.
“For the last couple months, it’s just felt like blow after blow,” Evans said. “For now, dodging an existential cut is a big win in light of everything that’s going on.”
The US Senate Committee on Appropriations has indicated that it will reject the massive budget cuts that President Donald Trump has proposed for some science agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA. Although the proposed Senate bill is far from being passed, there is “cautious optimism, as opposed to the doom and gloom over the past three months”, says Evans. “If there’s real appetite for bipartisan commitment to the science budgets, that’s a huge win.”
The Trump administration has taken aim at government websites with data that it considers contradictory. Organizations are mobilizing to save what can be saved. Evans shared his concern in this Les Echos piece, saying "It's not for financial reasons that this government is sliding towards secrecy..."