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A directive from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is requiring the withdrawal of all pending scientific publications involving CDC researchers to accommodate a review by the Trump administration, according to a federal official speaking with Reuters.
The extensive mandate was communicated via email from the CDC’s chief science officer to all division leaders on Friday, as confirmed by the official who viewed the correspondence but couldn’t speak publicly due to lack of authorization.
The review aims to ensure compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order that mandates federal recognition of only two sexes – male and female. When asked for comment, Department of Health and Human Services officials did not respond.
The mission of @USDOT and @FAANews is safety. The last administration prioritized the environment and social justice over safety. Under the Trump Administration, we are back on mission.
“We’re focused on safety and having the best people delivering that safety. I don’t care… pic.twitter.com/TFVI3R6beR
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 2, 2025
Initially reported by Inside Medicine Substack, this withdrawal mandate expands upon a previous January 21 directive that temporarily halted public communications from federal health agencies for review by Trump appointees.
According to Inside Medicine’s reporting and confirmed by the federal official, specific terminology targeted for removal includes words such as gender, transgender, LGBT, and nonbinary.
The latest directive encompasses all manuscripts authored or co-authored by CDC scientists. The official noted that CDC researchers who contributed to papers originating outside the agency are being instructed to remove their names from these works.
Health experts have expressed concern that eliminating such terminology could hamper their ability to address various medical conditions affecting different populations, particularly regarding HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.
“We can’t just erase or ignore certain populations when it comes to preventing, treating, or researching infectious diseases such as HIV. I certainly hope this is not the intent of these orders,” said Carl Schmid, an advocate and executive director of the HIV+ Hepatitis Policy Institute.
Scientific journal editors have questioned the directive’s legal standing. Dr. Alfredo Morabia, editor in chief of the AJPH, explained that for accepted but unpublished papers, “we have the copyright. The author can no longer make changes.”
Regarding papers under review, Morabia suggested that “a collective response is warranted from journal editors and publishers. There should be some common strategies.”
Sean Duffy just TORCHED Jake Tapper after he tried to trap him with a trick question.
Tapper: "Is there any specific evidence that backs up President Trump's claims that DEI or FAA hiring practices are responsible in any way for this tragedy?"
Duffy: "I do know that in the last… pic.twitter.com/DfMugEkF9Q
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) February 2, 2025
“It sounds incredible that this is compatible with the First Amendment. A constitutional right has been canceled,” he said. “How can the government decide what words a journal can use to describe a scientific reality? That reality needs to be named.”
“This is a travesty,” Dr. Carlos Del Rio, chief section editor for HIV/AIDS for NEJM Journal Watch Infectious Diseases, said in an email.
“CDC scientists publish every year important work that informs the field of public health. Stopping publications is never good,” he said.
Concurrent with these developments, the CDC and other U.S. health agencies removed various web resources on Friday, including HIV statistics and a youth health risk behavior database, to align with Trump administration policies on gender identity and diversity. This action has sparked concerns about censorship among medical professionals and patient advocates.