[potholereseller]

The title should say "government-employed scientists", because this order has nothing to do with scientists employed by universities or by corporations. The order is concerning, but this is the trade-off when working for any government; if something you do could undermine the government's policy goals, even if you didn't violate any law, then you should expect retaliation from the government -- expect to be fired at least.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to guess what might offend government officials.