President Donald Trump fired all 22 members of the National Science Board, which oversees the National Science Foundation and guides the president and Congress on science policy, via email on Friday.
The board was created in 1950 to advise the administration on science and engineering policy and approve major funding awards. It is usually made up of 25 members appointed by the president who serve six-year terms.
According to Yolanda Gil, one of the terminated members, all 22 current members of the board were terminated. The board was planning to meet next week and was finalizing a report on the state of American science, Gil told CBS.
Members of the board received an email on Friday from the Presidential Personnel Office “on behalf of President Donald J. Trump” stating that their positions were “terminated, effective immediately.”
Another board member, Keivan Stassun, told CBS that planned cuts to the NSF might be easier to execute without an advisory board in the way. Congress blocked a $5 billion cut to the NSF budget last year, but another cut is on the table for the coming year.
The board also helps the NSF maintain independence. This could be complicated if the board is replaced by members appointed by the current administration, as the six-year terms are deliberately designed to preserve a bipartisan board.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
The broader pattern
Firing this board is the latest move in a broader pattern that is decreasing funding for science across various organizations. The president’s budget request asked for major cuts to research funding at the NSF, reducing it by 54%. It also calls for a 12.3% cut to the National Institutes of Health budget.
The administration also recently abandoned an effort to cap indirect costs at 15% for NIH grants. Indirect costs typically range from 50% to 70% of the direct costs and are usually determined on an individual basis. Under this plan, major research institutions would have lost between $100 million and $800 million annually.
Between January 2025 and February 2026, the NSF lost of 40% of its members to cuts by the administration. The CDC, the next hardest-hit organization, lost over 20% of its members. In that time frame, almost 15,000 STEM and health jobs were cut at various government agencies.
The administration has often referred to cuts to “woke” research, including research regarding the climate and sustainability, COVID vaccines, social studies and racial equality.
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