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Opinion

Nature 410, 499 (29 March 2001) | doi:10.1038/35069194

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Problems with the president

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Rapid-fire decisions on ergonomics, arsenic levels and carbon dioxide emissions indicate that scientific opinion sits low in the pecking order of influence inside the new Bush administration.

It normally takes several months for a new US administration to find its tone, as thousands of mid-level political appointees arrive in Washington to man the levers of government, and relationships are established with other power centres, including the Congress. But a string of regulatory decisions made by George W.