Thousands gather across U.S .and world in Stand Up for Science events

Scientists and their supporters rallied across the country in response to layoffs and funding cuts ordered by the Trump administration

• 7 Mar 2025
• 1:10 PM ET
• ByAlexa Robles-GiL

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Thousands of researchers and their supporters, including recently fired federal workers, gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial here today to protest what they consider the antiscience actions of President Donald Trump in the nearly 7 weeks since he took office. The nation’s capital is just one of the many locations hosting the rally, called Stand Up for Science, with about 30 events nationwide and additional rallies outside the United States, bringing the expected total to more than 150 events (see slideshow, below). 

Trump’s administration—marked by severe budget cuts to research funding and widespread layoffs across science-funding agencies—sparked the rare political action among members of the scientific community, echoing the March for Science protests during the president’s first term. “We are looking at the most aggressive antiscience government the U.S. has ever had,” said astronomer Phil Plait, kicking off the speaker lineup. “We have fought antiscience before, and we’ve won.”

At the Washington, D.C., event, protesters demanded an end to government censorship in scientific research, restoration of federal funding, reinstatement of federal employees, preservation of diversity and inclusion in science, and more. The crowd heard from more than a dozen speakers, including Senator Chris van Hollen (D–MD), former Representative Fred Upton (R–MI), and former National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins.

“I’m worried about my country right now,” said the geneticist, who recently left NIH after 32 years of service there, more than a decade as its director. Collins, in his first public remarks since leaving NIH, did not address whether he had been forced out by the Trump administration, but he defended the agency. “While moving fast and breaking things might be an appropriate mantra for Silicon Valley, a better mantra for the decisions that potentially disrupt an institution with a stunningly positive track record that affects the future health of the nation, let’s go with ‘first do no harm,’” he told the audience. 

Representative Bill Foster (D–IL), the only physicist in Congress, encouraged residents of Republican districts to reach out to their representatives to let them know they care about science. He reflected on his own experience as a scientist: “Why do [scientists] take the truth so seriously? I think it’s because we operate on the edge of what is known. And so we cannot tolerate the additional uncertainty of whether the person presenting the data is actually lying.” 

A federal scientist in attendance hopes the protest helps the public understand the importance of the harm being done to science. His work focuses on studying infectious disease that affects the U.S. military. “I cannot do my job right now,” he said, citing Trump administration–imposed credit card limits and budget cuts as the main reason. He asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “This is bad, and we knew that this was going to happen.”

Gretchen Goldman, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and former federal scientist, was also on the speaker lineup. “When there’s no funding for research into disease prevention and cures, real people suffer,” she said. This protest is not the first mobilization Goldman has been involved in. Earlier this week, UCS sent a letter signed by more than 50 scientific societies, representing 100,000 scientists, to members of Congress asking for protections for federally funded science and federal scientists. “We must save science, and save lives,” she told the crowd.  

After Collins' speech, the long-time musician famed for singing at scientific meeting grabbed an acoustic guitar and led the crowd in a pro-science update of "For all the good people," a classic folk song. Among the lyrics were "This is a song for all of those dreamers looking for answers that come our way. Scientists, doctors, students, all seekers, share in the hopes of a much brighter day" and, in a line that drew cheers,  "So come on you people, and stand up for science." The rally also included the DC Labor Chorus, billed as the “musical arm of the resistance,” which led the crowd in a tune that included the lyric “science improves our lives.”   

Thinking about the event in the U.S. capital started about a month ago, when five scientists, nearly all of them graduate and Ph.D. students, bonded on Bluesky over their concerns about the impact of Trump’s executive orders on science. Plans for the Washington, D.C., rally and satellite events started to fall into place, as the movement gained momentum. When organizers Emma Courtney and J. P. Flores first spoke to Science, the official account of Stand Up for Science on Bluesky had a couple thousand followers. Today, the account has more than 50,000. 

The initial March for Science took place in 2017, drawing millions worldwide, and was followed by smaller events in the following 2 years. Organizers for Stand Up for Science sought out lessons from the organizers of the original March for Science, who advised them to keep things simple. The current protesters decided to keep the core team small, lay out their demands, and simply state a time for rallies, gathering 100 volunteers to handle details in other locations. 

Today’s date is no coincidence. Despite the crowds at the public events, policymakers are the protests’ true intended audience, and the U.S. Senate will be in session a few blocks away from the Washington, D.C., rally site. Stand up for Science organizers also believe that by doing the event on a Friday afternoon, scientists and members of the public will step away from work “to take a stand against the attack on science,” per the event’s official website.