The 2026 midterms are today—here’s what scientists say is at stake
Scientific American · Adam Kovac ·
The second Trump administration has dismantled, disrupted or weakened many of the country’s scientific bodies
The 2026 midterm elections are finally here, and as the results roll in on Tuesday night and through this week, scientists will be watching closely. That’s because the results could influence the very foundations of U.S. science, from funding decisions to data center expansion to research agency budgets.
Those foundations have been rocked by the second Trump administration. Since 2025 the government has sought to redirect grant money toward artificial intelligence, technology, and nuclear energy and has reduced funding for climate, health and social science projects. The administration has repeatedly proposed mass cuts to NASA and National Science Foundation budgets and has laid off thousands of federal workers, including researchers. At the same time, universities have come under federal investigation, while the number of international students and early-career researchers has been limited by new visa rules. Amid all this, the administration has also sought to discredit vaccines, slash climate regulations and pull the U.S. back from global collaborations in science.
“This election's critical,” says Gretchen Goldman, president and CEO of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It will determine a lot of what happens next, especially with this administration and their actions. This cycle is critical in terms of how the federal government is run and what kinds of checks and balances we’ll have in the next two years.”
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