The ongoing US government shutdown in 2025 is severely impacting scientific research, with funding freezes and furloughs halting critical work at federal agencies. As the shutdown enters its fifth week, the Trump administration's policy changes are exacerbating the damage, potentially rewriting the relationship between government and research institutions. Experts warn that the effects will outlast the shutdown itself.
Government shutdowns in the US have long affected science, but the 2025 episode arrives amid heightened stakes due to President Donald Trump’s efforts to extend executive power and exert political control over scientific institutions. Shutdowns occur when Congress fails to pass an appropriations bill by October 1, halting nonessential operations as per Article 1, Section 9 of the US Constitution. This leaves tens of thousands of government scientists furloughed without pay, suspending activities at agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH).
New grant opportunities and expert review panels are postponed or canceled, while data collection and analysis on the economy, environment, and public health stop. University projects dependent on federal funding face risks, and extended shutdowns create larger data gaps, financial strain for employees, and potential layoffs at academic institutions. As the shutdown nears the record for the longest ever, it takes months for agencies to recover from backlogs in paperwork, paychecks, and peer reviews.
The Trump administration, led by White House budget director Russell Vought, is using the crisis to “shutter the bureaucracy” and pressure universities on issues like campus speech, gender identity, and admission standards. In October, Trump redirected unspent research funding to pay furloughed service members before their October 15 paycheck, challenging Congress's spending authority. The administration has promised to fire 10,000 civil servants, threatened to withhold back pay, and aims to end programs not aligned with presidential priorities.
These actions could lead to impounded or repurposed research funds over the next three years, damaging US international competitiveness and economic security. Parallels are drawn to China’s approach of centralizing science while suppressing dissent, raising questions about America’s innovation edge. Kenneth M. Evans, a physicist and policy scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute, notes the shutdown’s role in broader reforms to grantmaking, immigration, and scientific integrity, with unknown long-term consequences for higher education and global competition.