Partnership for Public Service launches interactive tool tracking consequences of Trump administration’s cuts to critical federal scientific work

The Cost of Cutting American Science measures impact across eight sectors

WASHINGTON — Federal science agencies accounted for more than 40% of total federal workforce reductions between September 2024 and February 2026, according to a new interactive tool launched today by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. The Cost of Cutting American Science combines data and original storytelling to illustrate how the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to funding and the federal workforce are disrupting critical scientific work, and the consequences that will affect people, communities and the nation for years to come.

The tool analyzes impacts across eight sectors: food and agriculture; biomedical research; public health and disease prevention; national parks and public lands; environmental research and innovation; weather forecasting and emergency response; scientific discovery and technological innovation; and energy research and infrastructure. Throughout the tool, data is supplemented with impact stories and profiles of people and organizations affected by cuts. In addition to exploring findings by sector or at the national level, users can get tailored data and content based on their identity, occupation, lifestyle, interests and location.

“Federal investments in scientific research are behind some of our greatest national achievements: eradicating deadly diseases, putting humans in space, improving access to clean air and water and building the national parks system,” said Partnership for Public Service President and CEO Max Stier. “Right now, decades of achievement are being unraveled by indiscriminate cuts to funding and the federal workforce that harm people and communities, weaken our economy and threaten our standing as the world’s leading innovator.”

“Especially on the heels of OMB’s recent efforts to further politicize scientific grant decisions rather than allow evidence and career scientists to make those calls, we must unite around protecting these essential investments in our collective future,” Stier continued.

Key findings include:

Federal science agencies lost 117,840 employees between September 2024 and February 2026 — a 14% decrease that accounted for 41% of the total federal workforce reduction during that period. Grant funding from those agencies fell 24% between fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

The hardest-hit sectors by workforce loss:

• National Parks and Public Lands agencies (27.4% decrease), including the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and others
• Scientific Discovery and Technological Innovation agencies (23.4%), including NASA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and others
• Food and Agriculture agencies (22.7%), including the Food and Drug Administration, Agricultural Research Service, Food Safety and Inspection Service and others

Spending cuts were steepest in:

• Environmental Research and Innovation project grants, down 78.9%
• Food and Agriculture project grants, down 62.3%
• Public Health and Disease Prevention R&D contracts, down 49.4%

States with significant public lands saw the sharpest workforce losses — Alaska lost 36.7% of its federal science workforce, while Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah each lost more than 25%. Grant funding — tied to specific projects for a limited period — fell most sharply in Mississippi (85.6%) and Colorado (69.6%). R&D contracts, which cover vendor-supplied goods and services, saw the deepest cuts in Arkansas (96%), with Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Kansas all exceeding 75%.

The Cost of Cutting American Science will be updated regularly as new data becomes available, providing an ongoing picture of how individuals and communities are affected by cuts to federal science.

This is the fifth product released as part of the Partnership’s Federal Harms Tracker, a data and storytelling project documenting the impact of the Trump administration’s unprecedented campaign to dismantle federal institutions, funding streams and infrastructure. Other Federal Harms Tracker tools include:

• The Cost to Your Government tracks confirmed employee reductions across federal agencies, sourced from official government documents and news reports, and links them to specific risks and harms for communities nationwide.

• The Cost to Your Community shows how workforce reductions and funding cuts affect states, cities and towns through data and storytelling.

• The Cost to Our Economy summarizes and aggregates the direct and indirect financial costs of actions such as reductions in force, implementation of the deferred resignation program and the loss of federal grants.
• The Cost of the Shutdown documents the day-by-day impact of disruptions to vital government services during the 2025 total government shutdown and the 2026 partial government shutdown.

Learn more about the loss of senior leadership at federal science agencies and the Trump administration’s efforts to politicize decision-making here.

For more information about the state of employee engagement and its impact on effective service delivery at federal science agencies, check out the results of the Partnership’s proprietary Public Service Viewpoint Survey.

The Partnership for Public Service is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to building a better government and a stronger democracy. Over the past 25 years and across five presidential administrations, we have offered government agencies and leaders crucial training and insights to better serve the public, championed legislation for effective government and shined a spotlight on the achievements of the federal workforce.

Now, building on our decades of experience, we engage the public about the value of government and how its erosion harms us all and advance reforms that seek to make our federal institutions more effective, responsive and accountable to the American people. We also strengthen leadership in federal, state and local government, help federal workers navigate an increasingly complex federal environment and provide former public servants with opportunities to shape efforts to transform government.

Visit ourpublicservice.org, follow us @PublicService and subscribe today to get the latest federal news, information on upcoming Partnership programs and events, and more.

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