The earthquake that has been Donald Trump's return to the White House on January 20 has shaken research and higher education in the United States and continues to have aftershocks. "It's a full-scale attack on biomedical research in the United States, a very violent blitzkrieg," said Didier Samuel, CEO of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), adding, "Week by week, the news worsens. I am particularly pessimistic." Antoine Petit, CEO of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) agreed: "Global science is already clearly in danger on certain subjects, such as the environment and health. Cuts in aid to developing countries will lead to a decline in prevention. We have generally underestimated our dependence on the United States. But let's be honest: Who could have predicted a year ago that the Trump hurricane would challenge international scientific collaborations?"

The latest blow from the White House, a budget document sent to Congress, calls for the outright closure of the research center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), one of the world's leading centers for research on climate, weather and marine resources. Jobs lost at NOAA, NASA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's richest biomedical research agency, already number in the tens of thousands. Universities are also affected.

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