Trump Administration Promotes Gold Standard Science; Scientists Criticize

The Trump administration announced the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services. S. In May 2025, Trump signed the “Restoring Gold Standard Science” executive order.

” Administration officials referenced the phrase in public remarks, publications, and social media posts. The nine-point definition includes principles such as reproducibility, transparency, acknowledgment of errors and uncertainties, collaboration, skepticism, falsifiable hypotheses, impartial peer review, acceptance of negative results, and freedom from conflicts of interest.

The executive order rolled back scientific integrity policies from the prior administration.

It described a decline in public trust in science that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Criticisms of Implementation Critics stated that the phrase “gold standard science” has been used to prioritize preferred outcomes over evidence.

An analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy group, said the policy undercuts values and standards previously prioritized in federal agencies. The analyst noted that the order makes it harder to pursue and publish findings without political interference.

A White House spokesperson stated that the administration is ensuring political agendas do not corrupt policymaking, which should be guided only by gold standard science.

The spokesperson described some scientists' concerns as arising only after the pandemic, calling them delusional or partisan. The term “gold standard science” has been used in scientific contexts for at least half a century to describe high-quality research methods.

Changes to Advisory Committees Dr.

Daniel Jernigan resigned as director of the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases in August 2025. He cited concerns that new leadership was not taking an evidence-based approach. Jernigan referenced changes to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the CDC on vaccinations.

The committee previously followed the Evidence to Recommendations framework for weighing evidence. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaced the 17-member committee with a new group. The new group largely abandoned the framework and included a presentation on the preservative thimerosal that focused on reports of harm but omitted studies showing its safety in large populations.

The committee voted not to recommend further vaccines containing thimerosal, which was removed from childhood vaccines in 2001. Kennedy stated that public trust has eroded and that radical transparency and gold standard science would help restore it. Jernigan said accepting lower standards of evidence for reported harms than for benefits is not a good way to practice science.

Delays in Vaccine Studies The National Institutes of Health director and acting CDC director, Dr.

Jay Bhattacharya, has delayed the release of a study. The study found that COVID-19 vaccines reduced hospitalizations by 55%. Media reports indicated the study used patients' vaccination status, a method commonly used for flu vaccine effectiveness.

Bhattacharya reportedly preferred waiting for a randomized clinical trial, described as the gold standard for interventions but expensive and time-consuming for seasonal vaccines. Jernigan noted that ideology determining evidence standards is problematic. The executive order aims to restore trust but has raised questions about consistent application of scientific principles across agencies.

Background on the Term The term “gold standard science” predates the current administration.

In science, standards evolve with new evidence, unlike fixed systems in finance. David Blumenthal, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and co-author of the book 'Whiplash: From the Battle for Obamacare to the War on Science,' said science methods improve constantly.

Blumenthal stated that gold standard science from 1990 might be considered malpractice in 2026, and standards may change again in the future.

He emphasized that those doing the work are most familiar with current methods. Involvement of working scientists is necessary for maintaining high standards.