Trump tried to gut science research funding. Courts and Congress have rebuffed him.

A year ago, federal support for scientific research appeared to be crumbling. But thanks to Congress and several lawsuits, scientists’ worst fears haven’t come to pass.

The Trump administration last February cut thousands of workers at federal science agencies, squeezed the flow of grant money to universities and tried to slash funding for the overhead costs of research. In the months that followed, it targeted elite universities over allegations of antisemitism; clawed back grants on topics it saw as related to diversity, equity and inclusion; and proposed a budget with drastic cuts to agencies like NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

To many, science appeared under assault. The model the federal government had used to outsource research to universities since World War II seemed to be collapsing.

But a year later, the worst of those fears hasn’t come to pass, thanks to several successful legal challenges and Congress’ recent rejection of many of President Donald Trump’s requested cuts for this year.

An alphabet soup of science, education and civil liberties organizations — the ACLU, the APHA, the AAU, among others — have beaten back some of the Trump administration’s most significant policy changes in court, preserving billions in science funding. And the funding package that Congress has approved, piece by piece, over the past three weeks keeps federal funding for science agencies roughly flat compared with last year.