How Politics Percolates Through Science Assessment

Scientific research has been considered a primary source of information for improving policy outcomes, but its use is inevitably intertwined with political considerations. Using a comprehensive dataset of peer-reviewed journal articles evaluated for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, this paper examines the trade-off between partisan bias and evidence quality in internal science evaluation by government agencies. I find that the integration of science into policymaking is guided by a pursuit of expertise but biased in favor of the presidential administration. The evaluation of low-quality studies is more susceptible to partisan bias, while high-quality studies remain relatively unaffected. This work not only provides an empirical examination of long-standing questions about how information is used by politically divergent factions but also illuminates the pathways through which academic research connects the contours of evidence-based policymaking.