1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

The systematic removal of datasets from Data.gov is deeply concerning and represents an alarming attempt to obscure important information from the public. Nearly 3,000 datasets have disappeared since the current administration took office, disproportionately impacting environmental science agencies tasked with research and data collection critical to understanding and addressing climate change. This erasure of publicly available data undermines transparency, hampers scientific progress, and deprives citizens of resources paid for by their tax dollars. While some deletions may be incidental byproducts of administrative changes, the targeted removal of climate and environmental data suggests an intentional effort to suppress inconvenient facts and impede evidence-based policymaking. A government accountable to its people must operate with openness, not obfuscation. I urge decisive action to halt this unacceptable purge of public data and ensure the reinstatement and preservation of all datasets stripped from Data.gov. Transparency and access to information are core democratic principles that must be safeguarded.