Based on his past statements that completely disregard science, scientists, and scientific data, no one can accuse President Donald Trump of being an avid fan of the field. However, a recent report reveals the true extent of the current administration’s disregard for science. As it turns out, the science division of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) at the White House is now empty. The last three employees just left.
Back in July 1st, The Hill published a report where insider revealed the understaffing issue, which the White House denied. At the time, it was reported that only 35 people worked in the entire OSTP wing, with only 12 still slogging along in the science division.
In a recent report by CBS News, however, it would seem that this number from the science division is down to zero as the last three remaining staffers have just quit. What’s more, this development paints a grim picture for science since these workers were actually from the Obama era. This means that the Trump administration has made no staff appointments to work in the division.
This also reflects just how much of an opposite force President Trump is compared to former President Obama, who made some incredible progress in the OSTP wing. According to a WH official, the OSTP office experienced exponential growth under the previous administration. A development that is simply not happening in the current one.
"Under the previous administration, OSTP had grown exponentially over what it had been before," the WH official said. "Before the Obama administration, it had usually held 50 to 60 or so policy experts, director-level people, for all of OSTP."
As to how this will affect regular Americans, the results could include loss of funding in several scientific pursuits and technological innovations, Futurism reports. Many of the technological and medical marvels that US citizens experience now are due to government funded projects. Now, these projects could disappear.