The Biden administration announced Monday the formal launch of its Scientific Integrity Task Force which will review the federal government’s scientific policies to ensure they are free from inappropriate political influence. The 46 members come from across the federal government and will meet for the first time on Friday.
The review comes after several former Trump administration officials have said they felt political pressures while doing their jobs during the pandemic.
The effort is being led by the White House Office of Science and Technology and stands as an early example of the Biden administration’s commitment to science and government accountability. In a statement, OSTP said mobilizing the task force “would the lift up the voices of Federal scientists of many perspectives and backgrounds, in order to ensure that scientific integrity is paramount in Federal governance for years to come.”
An administration official told CNN in April the task force’s review is less about Trump’s actions to interfere in scientific decisions and more about protecting science in the federal government going forward. / cnn