The Trump administration has abruptly terminated all members of an independent board that has overseen the National Science Foundation for 76 years, raising concerns about the future of federal research funding and the training of the next generation of American scientists and engineers.
Members of the National Science Board received an email on Friday from the Presidential Personnel Office "on behalf of President Donald J. Trump" saying their position was "terminated, effective immediately." Every member of the current 22-person board was let go, according to terminated member Yolanda Gil.
Scientists Express Alarm Over Research Funding
The National Science Board was created in 1950 to advise the president and Congress on science and engineering policy, approve major funding awards and guide NSF's future. The board is typically made up of 25 members appointed by the president who serve staggered, six-year terms. The fired scientists hail from academia and industry and specialize in areas including astronomy, math, chemistry and aerospace engineering.
Dismissed board member Keivan Stassun said in an email, "I wasn't entirely surprised, to be honest," and added that the decision was "enormously disappointing." Stassun works at Vanderbilt University. Gil, who works at the Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California, said the board had planned to meet in person next week and was finalizing a report on the state of U.S. science. Gil said, "I think this is one more indication of the sweeping changes that the administration has in mind for the NSF."
Budget Cuts and Institutional Disruption
The Trump administration tried to cut the science foundation's $9 billion budget by more than half last year. Congress maintained NSF's funding, but a similar slash is once again on the table for the coming year. Without an advisory board in the way this time, Stassun said, such cuts may be easier to execute. It could "eviscerate investments in fundamental research and in the training of the next generation of scientists and engineers for our nation," Stassun said.
The science foundation's headquarters was also relocated to a smaller building. Last year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it would be moving into the NSF's former base in Alexandria, Virginia.
Congressional Democrats Denounce Move
Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said in a statement that the move was "a dangerous attack on the institutions and expertise that drive American innovation and discovery."
The National Science Foundation directed a request for comment to the White House. In an emailed statement, the White House said the powers given to the National Science Board when it was created may need to be updated. The science foundation's work "continues uninterrupted," the statement said.
Why This Matters:
The mass termination of the National Science Board removes independent oversight of an agency that funds fundamental research across American universities and institutions, affecting thousands of scientists and graduate students who depend on NSF grants for their work. With the administration proposing to cut NSF's $9 billion budget by more than half and the advisory board that would review such cuts now eliminated, researchers face uncertainty about funding for projects that drive scientific discovery and train future generations of American scientists and engineers. The move represents a shift away from the model of expert-guided science policy that has existed for 76 years, potentially leaving decisions about research priorities and funding to political appointees without the buffer of independent scientific advisors. For communities across the country that benefit from NSF-funded research in areas from climate science to medical breakthroughs to technology innovation, the dismantling of institutional safeguards raises questions about how research priorities will be determined and whether political considerations will override scientific merit in funding decisions.