My encouragement to this three-time Trump voter is that if his research is truly valuable, which it looks like it is, then it will get picked up again for funding. This is a short-term setback due to the political winds, and perhaps a necessary corrective to the bloat and corruption in science (which he already acknowledges).

Yes, it's sad, but he shouldn't adopt an attitude that this temporary setback means the research can't or won't progress any further.