On March 20, 2025, an official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Sharon Strickland, sent employees of in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) a list of 110 banned words and phrases, including terms such as “clean water,” “climate change,” and “safe drinking water.” ARS, a division of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), is the chief scientific and research arm of the USDA and is responsible for finding scientific solutions to challenges facing the US agriculture industry.
The memo further stated that “[w]hen evaluating agreements, those entries that include these terms or similar terms cannot be submitted” in order to “maintain compliance with the Administration’s EOs [executive orders].” The memo did not clearly specify which agreements are being evaluated or what the consequences would be for not following the order.