White House office tells agencies to apply 'Gold Standard Science' to depoliticize research, restore trust

EXCLUSIVE: The White House Office of Science and Technology on Monday directed federal agencies to implement "gold standard science" principles to depoliticize science and restore public trust, Fox News Digital has learned.

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios sent guidance to federal research agencies Monday morning, incorporating President Donald Trump's executive order on "Restoring Gold Standard Science."

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Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the guidance sent to federal agencies.

President Trump, in May, signed an executive order to restore "Gold Standard Science" as the cornerstone of federal scientific research.

"Gold Standard Science" is "reproducible, transparent and falsifiable," according to the order. 

It is also "subject to unbiased peer review; clear about errors and uncertainties; skeptical of assumptions; collaborative and interdisciplinary; accepting of negative results as positive outcomes; and free from conflicts of interest." 

The executive order reinstated "the scientific integrity policies" of the first Trump administration and "ensures that science is no longer manipulated or misused to justify political ends." 

"President Trump’s Gold Standard Science EO will transform the conduct and management of federal science, from research design to public communication, in order to strengthen scientific inquiry, rebuild public trust, and ensure the U.S. continues to be the global leader in rigorous, evidence-based science," Kratsios told Fox News Digital. "But federal agencies are only one part of our nation’s research ecosystem."

Kratsios added, "American universities, scientific journals, industry and philanthropic leaders all have a crucial role in improving the overall quality of research, and we encourage this executive action to serve as a model for the entire scientific enterprise."

Kratsios sent the memo to federal agencies Monday morning to provide guidance to federal departments and agencies on implementing gold standard science "in the conduct and management of all aspects of their scientific activities, from research design to public communication."

"By adopting these standards, agencies will strengthen scientific inquiry, rebuild public trust, and ensure the United States continues as the global leader in rigorous, evidence-based science," the memo states.

Kratsios said that "Gold Standard Science" represents a "commitment to the highest standards of scientific integrity, defined by nine core tenets: reproducible; transparent; communicative of error and uncertainty; collaborative and interdisciplinary; skeptical of its findings and assumptions; structured for falsifiability of hypotheses; subject to unbiased peer review; accepting of negative results as positive outcomes; and without conflicts of interest."

"These tenets ensure that federally-supported research and research used in federal decision-making is transparent, rigorous, and impactful, enabling federal decisions to be informed by the most credible, reliable, and impartial scientific evidence available," Kratsios wrote in the guidance.

But "Gold Standard Science" is not limited to science, Kratsios said, saying that it is critical for tackling complex challenges in energy innovation and national security as well.

"In an age of rapid technological progress and heightened public scrutiny, federally-funded and federally-performed science, and its use in Federal decision-making, must be beyond reproach," he wrote.

As for conducting science "without conflicts of interest," Kratsios said it is imperative to ensure that "research is designed, executed, reviewed, and reported free from financial, personal, or institutional influences that could bias outcomes or undermine objectivity."

"This approach is important for generating trustworthy and credible new knowledge, as it upholds scientific integrity, fosters public confidence, and ensures that results reflect evidence rather than external agendas," the memo states. "Maintaining freedom from conflicts of interest requires researchers, reviewers, and managers to disclose all relevant affiliations, funding sources, and relationships relevant to the science conducted, adhering to stringent ethical standards supported by strong institutional oversight, transparent reporting systems, and independent expert review mechanisms."

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Kratsios said agencies must "prioritize conducting and managing scientific research free from conflicts of interest to advance unbiased science," and must "require disclosure of all relevant conflicts of interest by researchers, reviewers, and agency officials involved in the funding or performance of Federal research."

"These efforts include requiring comprehensive, standardized disclosure of all financial, personal, or institutional interests in research proposals, publications, peer and merit reviews, and data repositories, with clear and standardized protocols to identify, mitigate, and manage potential biases," the memo states. "Agencies should mandate the use of independent oversight approaches and enforce strict conflict-of-interest policies."

Agencies have 60 days to outline "Gold Standard Science" implementation plans, including plans for training and resources to ensure agency personnel understand the new policy, and the use of artificial intelligence-driven tools when practical.

After Trump signed the May executive order to restore gold standard science, a senior White House official said there had been a decline in "disruptive research" and investments in biomedical research, along with "serious cases" of fraud and misconduct and the inability to reproduce scientific methods for the purpose of restoring public trust.

The official also blamed policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and "woke DEI initiatives" for endangering the public’s trust in government scientists.

Now-retired National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci was repeatedly denounced for flip-flopping and obfuscating during his time engineering the federal response to COVID-19, leading many, particularly on the right, to disregard and dismiss the legitimacy of federal health authorities outright.

That order cites the fact the Biden administration included political edits from teachers' unions in school-reopening guidance, instead of leading with any scientific evidence.

Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital in April, Kratsios echoed Trump, saying the U.S. is in the "golden age" and that this special moment in time is "underpinned by unbelievable science and technology."