The second Trump administration has launched a concerted attack on science produced inside and outside the government. It will take years to understand fully the implications of cancelling billions of dollars in research grants to the nation’s universities and undermining EPA’s expertise and destroying IRIS.

As the EtO rollback demonstrates, many of the Trump administration’s deregulatory activities will end up in the courts. District court and appellate judges could face a series of complex disputes over science, technology, and the law. If the lower courts reverse Trump 2 rollbacks, the conservative Supreme Court may intervene to reverse those decisions and reinstate deregulation with decisions that will have long-lasting implications for public health.

The good news in this scenario of woe is that California is refusing to accept these attacks on public health and has pledged to regulate on its own. As one of the largest economies in the world, this development is encouraging. Hopefully other states will follow.