Trump Adviser’s Golden Age Report on U.S. Science Is a Missed Opportunity, Critics Say

Washington's 'New Golden Age': How the US plans to rewrite the rules of science competition

The US is overhauling how it funds science to stay ahead of global rivals. A new 123-page White House report scraps the post-war model of university-led research and instead bets on individual scientists, AI-driven discovery and a $5 billion platform called Genesis Mission. The report, Science: A New Golden Age, was submitted to President Trump on July 21 by Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

Trump adviser’s Golden Age report on U.S. science is a missed opportunity, critics say

White House report aims to shake up a “calcified system,” but researchers warn it could do more harm than good

Space Science’s Golden Age Problem

Last week, the White House OSTP released a sweeping vision for the nation’s R&D enterprise. The report—Science: A New Golden Age—argues the federal research system has fallen out of balance, and offers remedies (more on that in a moment). It names space science a priority, but the framing is narrow. The document ties space and planetary physics to how “space systems operate,” a nod to space weather and national security rather than the astrophys…

White House report says Trump can usher in a “new golden age” of science

Read the full story at Ars Technica. See also: Trump’s Science Adviser Wants to Overhaul “Increasingly Calcified” U.S. Science Enterprise While Science Funding Lags (EOS, 7/23/26) Kratsios, M. (2026). Science: A New Golden Age. White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Science-A-New-Golden-Age.pdf On Tuesday, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released…