“It Feels Like Getting Hit By A Car Right After You’ve Barely Survived A Train Wreck.” That’s How One U.S. Government Scientist Described The Current Reality As A Partial Government Shutdown Enters Its Second Week, Piling On Top Of Months Of Staff Cuts, Hiring Freezes, And Budget Uncertainty. Thousands Of Federal Scientists Are Locked Out Of Labs And Email Accounts, While Those Deemed “Essential” From Animal Caretakers To Clinical Trial Coordinators Work Without Pay, Wondering If Their Jobs Will Survive The Political Standoff Over The 2026 Fiscal Year Budget.
At The National Institutes Of Health, Only About 25% Of Staff Are Allowed To Work Mostly Those In Intramural Research. Grant Review Meetings Are On Hold, Applications Pile Up Unprocessed, And Scientists Like Julie Kovacs At The University Of Washington Brace For A Spring Funding Cliff. Her Grant Proposal Was Slated For Review On October 23. Now, With No Timeline For Reopening, She Fears She’ll Have To Shut Down Her Lab After More Than Three Decades Of Studying Enzymes That Fight Tumors And Synthesize Antibiotics. “Such A Waste,” She Says.
The National Science Foundation Is Also Paralyzed. Nearly All Staff Are Furloughed, Leaving Antarctic Researchers In The Dark About Ship Assignments. The RV Nathaniel B. Palmer The Only U.S. Polar-Class Vessel Dedicated To Southern Ocean Research Was Decommissioned Earlier This Year. Now, Scientists Like Rutgers Oceanographer Oscar Schofield Are Shuttling Between Substitute Vessels: First The Palmer, Then The Sikuliaq, Now The Revelle. “I’m Very Grateful That, Despite All The Chaos, NSF Is Trying Its Best To Maintain This Time Series,” He Says, Referring To A Climate Study Launched In 1990.
At NIH’s Child Health Institute In Bethesda, Maryland, Benjamin Feldman Still Sneaks Into His Zebrafish Facility A Few Times A Week For “Time-Sensitive Things” Like Ensuring Fish Are Bred At The Optimal Age. Otherwise, The Campus Is Eerily Quiet. Legally, Furloughed Scientists Can’t Work. But Several Admit To Drafting Manuscripts At Home, Just Not Submitting Them Too Afraid Of Repercussions. At NASA, Nonessential Staff Have Shifted Communications To Personal Emails And Secure Messaging Apps, Scrolling News Feeds For Any Sign The Shutdown Might End. “NASA Leadership Has Only Provided Radio Silence,” Says One Atmospheric Scientist Who Asked To Remain Anonymous.
Not All Is Despair. Some Scientists See A Silver Lining In The Shutdown: It Might Force Congress To Block The White House’s Attempt To Claw Back Funds Already Allocated For Fiscal Year 2025. Democrats Are Pushing For A Ban On Such “Rescissions” In Any New Funding Deal, And Even Some Republicans Seem Open To It. “People Are Feeling Optimistic In A Strange Way,” Says Mark Histed, A Neuroscientist At The National Institute Of Mental Health. For Researchers Who’ve Endured Eight Months Of Turmoil Firings, Travel Bans, Grant Cuts Reversed Only By Court Orders Any Legislative Shield Feels Like A Lifeline.
At The U.S. Department Of Agriculture, The Shutdown Compounds A Deeper Crisis. The Trump Administration Has Already Proposed Eliminating Or Drastically Downsizing Numerous Research Programs. A Wave Of Firings And Resignations Has Hobbled Operations, And The White House’s Vague Threat To Deny Back Pay To Furloughed Workers Is Accelerating Talent Drain. “It’s Reinforced Incentives For The Departure Of Early Or Midcareer Employees,” Says One USDA Researcher. For An Agency Tasked With Addressing Food Security And Climate-Resilient Agriculture, The Loss Of Institutional Knowledge Could Have Long-Term Consequences.
Congress Is Out Of Session Until Next Week. The White House Announced It Has Begun Firing Employees Across Agencies, Though Details Remain Scarce. For Scientists, The Shutdown Isn’t Just A Budget Dispute It’s A Daily Erosion Of Purpose, Progress, And Promise. Labs Sit Idle. Animals Are Kept Alive By Skeleton Crews. Decades Of Work Hang By A Thread. And Yet, In Quiet Acts Of Defiance Drafting Papers, Breeding Zebrafish, Planning Antarctic Cruises They Persist. Science Waits, But It Does Not Stop.
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