My comment with @nataliebaviles.bsky.social on the proposed OMB rule. Covers the shift to presidential control over funding decisions, and how this draws from the logic of unitary executive theory—which is flawed historically, Constitutionally, and in its assertion of democratic accountability. 1/

Presidential control of funding is less, not more, accountable to the public

A comment on the OMB funding proposed rule from Mark Histed and Natalie Aviles

scienceandfreedomalliance.substack.com

If you’re an immigrant, if you’re first generation, if you’re a woman, a scientist of color, trans, or gay, you belong in science. - Maya English, PhD student, GETUP UAW #standupforscience #philadelphiascienceaction

The most impt change at #NIH and to US science this year is bigger than grant cancellations— it’s how the agency is governed. For 75 years NIH has been largely independent of presidential control. That’s changed this year. New piece from me and @nataliebaviles.bsky.social in @nature.com 🧪

How Congress can restore the independence of US science

Members must go beyond reinstating US government research spending and re-establish decentralized governance at the National Institutes of Health and other agencies.

nature.com

Important thread about how the Trump admin is skirting the law and trying to slip out of following what judges say.

Jenna Norton@jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Current NIH leadership want you to think they are using rigorous, consistent & scientific processes to screen studies to align them with agency priorities. But the process that they have put down on paper is a sham. It’s important to know NIH is not following its own guidance. Here’s why: 🧵1/

Re: Science Mag editorial celebrating mainly the inside/quiet advocacy done this year, I offer this in lighthearted response. 🧪 This is a Myanmar woman doing her usual, longstanding dance routine while black cars speed by to carry out a coup. 1/4

You’re not crazy. The anti-trans movement is not organic; it was funded by pedophilic billionaires like Jeffrey Epstein who backed a network of conservatives to accuse the same people they were sexually abusing of being the real danger. @madycast.com exposes the truth in our in-depth report.

Epstein Backed ‘Billionaires’ Dinner’ Network of Prominent Anti-Trans Figures

Lawrence Krauss, Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker and other anti-trans influencers personally benefited from a right-wing academic social group backed by infamous human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, somet...

transnews.network

I wrote about one of the saddest evenings of my life: seeing Christine Maggiore, who opposed HIV medicines, speak in San Francisco. She was one of the HIV denialists who met President Mbeki at the International AIDS Conference in Durban in 2000; she died of AIDS pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

HIV disinformation

An official website of the United States government

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

BK. Titanji@boghuma.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Fascinating obituary of Peter Duesberg who went from renowned scientist discovering the first viral oncogene to HIV denialist who influenced Thabo Mbeki and HIV policy in S. Africa which led to millions dying. Human beings are complex creatures indeed. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/s...

Thread:

Mark Histed@markhisted.org · 6mo ago

The NIH budget bill passed the House. Now, it's bundled w/ DHS funding in the Senate. We are likely to see a fight this week. New from me: things to know about the budget bill, NIH presidentialization, free speech, why science has been quiet, & more. At "Can We Still Govern" @donmoyn.bsky.social 🧪

The NIH budget bill passed the House. Now, it's bundled w/ DHS funding in the Senate. We are likely to see a fight this week. New from me: things to know about the budget bill, NIH presidentialization, free speech, why science has been quiet, & more. At "Can We Still Govern" @donmoyn.bsky.social 🧪

Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social · 6mo ago

New at Can We Still Govern: NIH scientist @markhisted.org reviews the damage done to American biomedical science in the last year and looks ahead: "Scientists should not be political partisans, but they should be partisans for liberal democratic principles."🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/american-b...

New at Can We Still Govern: NIH scientist @markhisted.org reviews the damage done to American biomedical science in the last year and looks ahead: "Scientists should not be political partisans, but they should be partisans for liberal democratic principles."🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/american-b...

American biomedical science in 2026

Where we are, how we got here, and what to do next

donmoynihan.substack.com

Yes, some ICE funding is provided by the summer reconciliation bill that also savagely cut American healthcare. But D’s can demand language in the budget bills to restrain ICE, as @repcasar.bsky.social does. In principle they cld req ICE budget be zeroed out, if thr leverage&the public can get it.

Thank you for this, @repdexteror.bsky.social. Congresswoman Dexter is a physician who worked at research-intensive UW. She is now standing up for science and democracy. 💪

Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D.@repdexteror.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Federal agents have murdered another person in Minneapolis. Action must be taken by Congress. Impeach Kristi Noem. Impeach Donald Trump. Defund ICE. Republican lawmakers must stand up for their communities and the rule of law. Stay Loud.

If we continue to compromise with people whose stated goal is to destroy NIH, then we will not be successful in saving it.

NIH budget bill out today. It’s the result of heavy negotiations in Congress over past month+. 🧪 Big pic: NIH budget now is abt more than funding. It’s abt restraining the technical ways NIH is being broken by Proj 2025. And the restraints in the bill are tepid 🤷‍♂️ Also: watch ICE/DHS budget. 🧵1/

Endorse this. We are all in this together. Liberal values are important for science. Science and freedom are linked.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 7mo ago

Mamdani: "I am in support of abolishing ICE. What we see is an entity that has no interest in fulfilling its stated reason to exist. We're seeing a government agency that is supposed to be enforcing some kind of immigration law, but instead what it's doing is terrorizing people."

The language on multiyear funding (MYF) is ineffective. Final bill anchors MYF to 2025 instead of 2024. This means MYF will likely continue at the same rate we saw last year, where NCI's payline from ~10% to 4%. This is incredibly harmful to the US research workforce - especially early career.

Ian L Morgan@ianlmorgan.bsky.social · 7mo ago

The final LHHS bill with funding for Health and Human Services is out this morning! At first glance, it looks similar to the Senate bill with a roughly 1% increase in total funding for the NIH. While it doesn't match inflation, it avoids many of the problems in the presidential budget request. 1/n

science peeps.

Stand Up for Science!@standupforscience.net · 7mo ago

ICE’s actions tear families apart, intimidate communities, & undermine the conditions that make education, research, healthcare, & public trust possible. We’re calling on scientists to join the general anti-ICE strike in Minnesota on January 23rd.

I feel connected to MLK at a personal level because he and I share a birthday. The holiday gets me to think about MLK’s words and lessons. There is powerful advice for today in MLK's “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” Worth a read today. And a 🧵: 1/

@safa-science.bsky.social kindly posted it too.

Martin Luther King Jr on equality and the status quo

From status quo bias, to ‘popularism’ and picking big fights, MLK Jr in Letter From a Birmingham Jail has lessons about politics and society in the Trump era.

scienceandfreedomalliance.substack.com

If you want to keep up with folks who happen to work at the NIH, we have a starter pack of NIH relevant accounts. It’s always growing, so might be worth checking again even if you’ve “followed all” in the past. go.bsky.app/LQZYUdE

👇👇👇

Mark Histed@markhisted.org · 7mo ago

Bill Cassidy reportedly voted for RFK Jr because Cassidy was afraid of losing his next primary and feared Trump endorsed his further-right opponent. Trump just endorsed Cassidy’s opponent anyway! Appeasement does not work. Fight or get out of the way.

For those of you following the Guinea-Bissau hepatitis B vaccine: The Danish researchers have posted their updated protocol (called version 1.5). They still propose giving a lifesaving vaccine to only half of newborns and withholding it from others. www.bandim.org/wp-content/u...

My hearty congratulations to Senator Bill Cassidy, who kissed the ring and appointed RFK Jr. for Trump, only to have Trump give his full endorsement to Julia Letlow. The leopard eating faces party has eaten your face AND you have the blood of thousands upon thousands on your hands.

Bill Cassidy reportedly voted for RFK Jr because Cassidy was afraid of losing his next primary and feared Trump endorsed his further-right opponent. Trump just endorsed Cassidy’s opponent anyway! Appeasement does not work. Fight or get out of the way.

Eric Michael Garcia@ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Trump says he will endorse Julia Letlow if she runs against Bill Cassidy in a Republican senate primary.

Don’t let Russell Vought trick Congress into destroying science by removing multiyear funding limits from the NIH funding bill.

A reminder as Congress finalizes NIH appropriations: the bill must limit multiyear funding (MYF), Vought's way of cutting the NIH budget without cutting the budget. MYF will devastate the research workforce. @safa-science.bsky.social wrote this in July. Still relevant: substack.com/@scienceandf...

A Quiet Policy Shift That Could Devastate American Science

Why NIH’s sudden move to multi-year grant funding should alarm every principal investigator and university

substack.com

"We again call on Congress to reassert its constitutional power. Congress must hold the Administration accountable for its unlawful, violent, and deadly actions. If you fail to do so, people will continue to die at the hands of ICE." scienceandfreedomalliance.substack.com/p/statement-...

Statement from the Civil Servants Coalition on the State-Sanctioned Murder of Renee Good

A guest post from a broad and informal coalition of civil servants concerned about how the current administration is harming Americans

scienceandfreedomalliance.substack.com

Def not the most important thing about this, but coming across this thread from a researcher studying vehicle ramming attacks is giving me the most “old Twitter“ vibes I have had here…

Dr Yannick Veilleux-Lepage@yveilleuxlepage.bsky.social · 7mo ago

🧵In my expert opinion as a researcher of vehicle ramming attacks, what has been publicly described in the video evidence does not support the claim that Renee Nicole Good was attempting a deliberate ramming attack when she was shot in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026. 1/7

The U.S. research community has an interest to help ensure the integrity of scientific leadership at our public institutions. We are pleased to share this guest blog from @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social and Shiv Prasad, writing in their personal capacities. open.substack.com/pub/sciencea...

Reading the Tea Leaves on NIH Institute Director Searches

Which Fringe Scientists Might be Considered for Leadership Positions?

open.substack.com

It is interesting that Russell Vought kept Walter the NINDS IC director around for so long. (The renewal requests are going to the White House. This is all Vought and the project 2025 people.) Interesting because they fired Diana Bianchi at NICHD, and.. 🧵 1/

Jeremy Berg@jeremymberg.bsky.social · 7mo ago

More news (not good) from NIH The renewal request from National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke Director Walter Koroshetz has been denied. I guess the NIH_leadership™ needed another position to fill with their time-tested recruitment process.