Trump Team’s Rhetoric Doesn’t Match Actions
- National Prevention Science Coalition
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
This Letter to the Editor was published on May 12, 2025 and can be found at:
The Letter to KFF Health News reads: "The recent KFF Health News article “Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump” (April 17) struck a nerve. The rapid succession of suspended National Institutes of Health grants that swept the country shortly after President Donald Trump’s election have left us struggling to understand why such vital research — the bedrock of our ability to support the public’s health — would be treated as unnecessary or, worse, harmful.
People often think research, per se, doesn’t directly affect them. But research forms the basis for what we know will best work to treat, prevent, and manage illness, from chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and HIV, to mental health disorders. In addition to basic and applied research, NIH grants provide services directly to individuals and families, and they build community-based systems of care for its residents. We all benefit.
One area where federally funded research and programs have been especially impactful is in addressing the substance use crisis in America. With relatively modest investments, addiction science has led to enormous personal, societal, and economic benefits. Accomplishments include the treatments we use to break the cycle of addiction for millions of people, strategies for communities to support families with substance-related problems, prevention programs that divert youth away from substance use, and policies that reduce crime, suicide, overdose, and substance-related conditions like hepatitis and liver disease. Although we’re not done yet by any measure, these accomplishments have produced considerable returns on investment in personal and economic terms that are now at risk.
Out of a high level of concern, a group of career scientists formed the Addiction Science Defense Network to protect addiction research and evidence-based practice from actions by this administration. The number of researchers, practitioners, people with lived experience, and national organizations expressing their support for ASDN’s mission is growing into the hundreds. The Trump administration touts its commitment to reducing addiction, but its action don’t match the rhetoric. By curtailing research and funding for science-based solutions, we are practically assuring that the problem will continue to worsen over time. And, as underscored in Rae Ellen Bichell and Rachana Pradhan’s article, given that rates of drug overdose are highest in red states, predictions are that Trump supporters may suffer most of all."
— Diana Fishbein, Nova Institute for Health scholar, ASDN Coordinating Committee member, and University of North Carolina senior scientist, Chapel Hill, North Carolina