--- title: Obama Official Says Beware of Donald Trump Threat to Science description: Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told scientists Wednesday to stand up to Trump if his appointees try to undermine science. canonical: https://time.com/4603264/donald-trump-sally-jewell-science/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-15T14:45:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:22.044Z article:section: Science og:title: Obama Official to Scientists: Stand Up to Donald Trump og:description: “Your science matters" og:url: https://time.com/4603264/donald-trump-sally-jewell-science/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c66df3b1e2e4ab2/6988b312f887dc91dee98827/sally-jewell-donald-trump-science.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: sally jewell donald trump science og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Official to Scientists: Stand Up to Donald Trump twitter:description: “Your science matters" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c66df3b1e2e4ab2/6988b312f887dc91dee98827/sally-jewell-donald-trump-science.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Official to Scientists: Stand Up to Donald Trump ## Video: A Trump Presidency and the Future of Climate Change [Watch (HLS stream): A Trump Presidency and the Future of Climate Change](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/U3bhooK6.m3u8) (2:27)  _Published 2016-11-15. Donald Trump has repeatedly indicated that environmentalism is not his priority. Now, Climate scientists, policymakers and diplomats are questioning how his presidency will shape the future of climate change policy._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 15, 2016 2:45 PM UTC  US Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell attends the 100th Birthday of the National Park Service celebration at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Aug. 22, 2016 in New York City. US Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell attends the 100th Birthday of the National Park Service celebration at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Aug. 22, 2016 in New York City.John Lamparski—WireImage  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 15, 2016 2:45 PM UTC Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told scientists on Wednesday to stand up to President-elect [Donald Trump](http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-donald-trump-choice/?xid=homepage&pcd=hp-magmod)‘s administration if his appointees try to “undermine” science. Jewell’s remarks, delivered in a keynote speech at the American Geophysical Union’s annual gathering in San Fransisco, follow a number of moves from Trump’s transition team that have raised alarm in the scientific community. “I encourage people to speak up and to talk about the importance of scientific integrity,” she said following the speech, in remarks reported by [the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/12/14/obama-official-urges-scientists-to-fight-disinformation-under-trump/?utm%5Fterm=.8c4843ec2d26). “And if they see that being undermined to say something about it.” Trump has appointed a number of people who question the scientific consensus of climate change, including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as Secretary of Energy and Oklahoma Attorney General [Scott Pruitt](http://time.com/4594238/donald-trump-scott-pruitt-epa/?iid=sr-link1) as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Trump’s transition team also attracted attention when it suggested that the new president might [dismantle](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/22/nasa-earth-donald-trump-eliminate-climate-change-research) NASA’s Earth sciences program. A [questionnaire](http://time.com/4602315/donald-trump-energy-questionnaire/?iid=sr-link1) sent to the Department of Energy asked the agency to name people who worked on climate issues, leading some to fear that the incoming administration might try to purge climate scientists from its ranks. “Your science matters,” Jewell said in her speech. “I urge you to stay the course and keep up your commitment to your work.” Obama Official Says Beware of Donald Trump Threat to Science ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4603264/donald-trump-sally-jewell-science/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4603264/donald-trump-sally-jewell-science/"},"headline":"Obama Official to Scientists: Stand Up to Donald Trump","datePublished":"2016-12-15T14:45:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:04:22.044Z","description":"“Your science matters\"","url":"https://time.com/4603264/donald-trump-sally-jewell-science/","keywords":["Environment","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c66df3b1e2e4ab2/6988b312f887dc91dee98827/sally-jewell-donald-trump-science.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c66df3b1e2e4ab2/6988b312f887dc91dee98827/sally-jewell-donald-trump-science.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"sally jewell donald trump science","caption":"sally jewell donald trump science","creditText":"John Lamparski—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4603264/donald-trump-sally-jewell-science/","name":"Obama Official to Scientists: Stand Up to Donald Trump"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A Trump Presidency and the Future of Climate Change","description":"Donald Trump has repeatedly indicated that environmentalism is not his priority. 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