U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks is sounding the alarm over what she describes as the dismantling of America’s public health and scientific research infrastructure, warning that recent actions by the Donald Trump administration could have lasting consequences for both the United States and the world.
In a video message shared on social media, the Maryland Democrat expressed concern about cuts affecting agencies and institutions long regarded as leaders in medicine, public health and scientific innovation.
“It didn’t have to be this way,” Alsobrooks said, arguing that leadership decisions have contributed to what she called a decline in standards that once made the United States a global leader in health research.
Maryland occupies a unique place in the nation’s scientific ecosystem. The state is home to some of the world’s most prominent public health and biomedical research institutions, including National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and numerous research centers, universities and biotechnology companies.
For that reason, Alsobrooks said watching what she described as the “decimation” of trusted agencies under the current Trump administration has been especially painful.
“How heartbreaking it is for me as a senator from Maryland to watch the decimation of these agencies that have long been trusted by our families, not only here in Maryland, but across the country and across the world,” she said.
The senator argued that the erosion of scientific and public health institutions could have consequences far beyond state borders.
She warned that reductions in research support and disruptions to federal health agencies risk slowing medical advancements, weakening public trust and limiting the nation’s ability to respond to future health challenges.
“Maryland stands for the very principle of excellence in public health, in research, in science, in medicine,” Alsobrooks said. “What we have seen over the last year-plus really is the slow deterioration of a standard of excellence that I think will set back our country and, by extension, really harm people all across the world.”
Her remarks come amid ongoing political debates over federal health policy, research funding and leadership at key public health agencies.
Alsobrooks also reiterated her criticism of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., noting that she was among the first senators to publicly call for his removal from office.
“We know that leadership matters,” she said. “I’ve said from the very beginning, as the first senator to call upon Secretary Kennedy to be terminated, fired, stepped down—we didn’t care which came first.”
According to Alsobrooks, her concerns stem from what she believes has been a pattern of decisions that have weakened America’s scientific and public health institutions.
Her comments reflect broader concerns voiced by some lawmakers, researchers and healthcare advocates who argue that reductions in funding and changes in agency priorities could undermine decades of progress in medicine and scientific discovery.
For Alsobrooks, the issue is personal as well as political. Representing a state that has become synonymous with medical research and innovation, she pointed out that the debate is a fight to preserve institutions that have helped save lives, drive scientific breakthroughs and maintain public confidence in health expertise.
As discussions over the future of federal health agencies continue, the senator’s message was clear: the decline she sees is neither inevitable nor irreversible.
“It didn’t have to be this way,” she said, urging renewed support for science, research and public health leadership.
