Federal agencies send ‘spurious’ emails, surveys to grantees

As President Donald J. Trump’s new administration clamps down on government spending, some scientists have received interrogatory emails from the federal agencies that fund their work. A questionnaire sent in early March to recipients of grants from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asked whether their research projects would “contribute to limiting illegal immigration” or “defend against gender ideology,” among other things. Luis Zaman, an evolutionary biologist and ecologist who is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, s hared screenshots of the survey on social media . A CDC spokesperson confirms their veracity, adding that the agency had sent the survey to all “grantees and partners.” The survey reflects the Trump administration’s move to leverage federal agencies to enforce the president’s recent executive orders. “We did send those questionnaires or surveys out executing on the president’s agenda,” the CDC spokesperson tells C&EN. The survey mirrors