White House Advances Science Agenda Amid Vaccine Policy Debate

The White House is weighing a new executive order that would alter the childhood vaccination schedule and expand autism‑related research, a proposal driven by President Donald Trump. Administration officials say the plan would direct the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to increase oversight of vaccines despite a lack of scientific evidence linking them to autism. The proposal has sparked internal tension, with aides warning that a focus on vaccine issues could hurt the Republican Party ahead of the November elections.

Separately, a White House science report titled “Science: A New Golden Age” calls for modernising the United States’ research system. The report argues that the post‑World‑II model—established by Vannevar Bush’s 1945 blueprint, which paired federal funding with universities, national labs and industry—has become overly bureaucratic and slow to translate discoveries into economic and security benefits. Critics say the new strategy underplays the role of universities and research institutions that have historically sustained American scientific leadership.