The US presidential election’s implications for chemistry

Next month’s US presidential election is sure to affect scientists—but exactly how a win for Donald J. Trump or Kamala Harris would ripple through the chemical enterprise remains unclear. Science has been a major plank in previous presidential platforms. This time, it’s “incredibly conspicuous by its absence,” says Andrew Maynard, a policy expert at Arizona State University. Each candidate’s stated priorities and in-office record leave certain science policy questions unanswered. It is unclear how far Harris, who became the Democratic Party’s candidate in late July, intends to depart from Biden-Harris administration policies. Meanwhile, Republican Party nominee Trump has a track record in the Oval Office, but his intentions toward the policies described in Project 2025, a detailed agenda developed by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation and many former Trump administration officials, are murky. Trump has distanced himself from the project. Adding complication, what the next US president can accomplish