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March 9, 2026<\/p>\n
3 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Stand Up for Science protests spread to more than 50 cities<\/p>\n Speakers at the Stand Up for Science rally in Washington, D.C., criticized the politicization of science and cuts to research that serves the public<\/p>\n By Dan Vergano edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n Former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head Steve Volz speaks on the National Mall on March 7, 2026, in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n Brian Stukes\/Getty Images<\/p>\n WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Scientists, advocates and lawmakers gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol Saturday for the second annual Stand Up for Science rally. Addressing the crowd, government scientists spoke out against the Trump administration\u2019s moves to cut or censor their work.<\/p>\n \u201cScience needs integrity. And scientists have an obligation to speak out,\u201d says Jenna Norton, a scientist at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, who was one of the speakers at the Washington D.C. rally, told Scientific American.<\/p>\n Norton, who filed a whistleblower complaint after the National Institutes of Health placed her on administrative leave in November, told demonstrators on Saturday that the Trump administration is \u201copposed to science itself. Eventually they will come for your science, too.\u201d<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n More than 2,000 people turned out for the protest on the National Mall; similar rallies took place in more than 50 cities around the country, according to the organizers\u2014up from about a dozen a year ago. There were almost as many signs in the crowd as there were people, as well as a large inflatable duck standing next to the stage as a visual protest against \u201cquack\u201d medicine, a nod to how federal vaccine and nutrition recommendations have changed under the Trump administration\u2019s vaccine-skeptic health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.<\/p>\n Since the new Trump administration took office in 2025, U.S. science agencies have lost more employees than over the previous two decades. A further 10,000 or so Ph.D. students in technical fields employed by the U.S. federal government have been lost to retirements, firings or buyouts, Science reported.<\/p>\n Speakers at the D.C. protest included Steve Volz, former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s satellite division, who said the Trump administration had sidelined him in order to privatize federal weather reports. (The agency did not respond to a request for a comment.) Also addressing the protest were young researchers at the National Institutes of Health, whose union in March received a letter from the agency saying the government would no longer recognize it. Lawmakers and political figures, including Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and conservative-lawyer-turned-Trump critic George Conway, also filled the speakers\u2019 lineup.<\/p>\n Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland backstage at a March 7, 2026, protest in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n Dan Vergano\/Scientific American<\/p>\n Congress\u2019s decision to pivot away from making the cataclysmic cuts to science funding that the Trump administration had proposed in 2025 is a \u201cray of sunshine,\u201d said Van Hollen, speaking backstage to Scientific American. But he added that an upcoming presidential budget request focused on defense spending will almost certainly again call for those cuts. \u201cThe pushback has made a difference,\u201d Van Hollen said, adding that Congress has written into law requirements that science funding be spent on the research purpose it has been earmarked for. The administration could ignore those laws, he said, triggering lawsuits and ultimately putting science on hold. \u201cThat\u2019s why I say a ray of sunshine, not that the sun has come out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In the last year \u201cwe have seen scientists mobilize for various days of action defending science, [which] has become a rallying cry for the broader resistance movement,\u201d says sociologist Dana Fisher of American University, who studies and surveys protests. Scientists fit squarely into the demographics of expected Trump administration protestors: white, highly educated and middle-aged or older, she says.<\/p>\n \u201cI expect we\u2019ll continue to see science as a focus and mobilizer of action,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note: This story is in development and may be updated.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" March 9, 2026 3 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Stand Up for Science protests spread to more than 50 cities Speakers at the Stand Up for Science rally in Washington, D.C., criticized the politicization of science and cuts to research that serves the public By Dan Vergano edited by Claire Cameron Former National<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[1979,494,516,5994,791],"class_list":{"0":"post-46269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-cities","9":"tag-protests","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-spread","12":"tag-stand"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n