WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s dismissal of every member of the National Science Board has thrown into limbo nearly $9 billion in congressionally appropriated funds for research into science and technology.
The board oversees the National Science Foundation and acts as a middleman between the foundation and Congress.
Over the last year, the Trump administration has repeatedly asked Congress to cut funding for the National Science Foundation, but lawmakers declined.
Without the board, the research funds cannot be effectively distributed to the National Science Foundation, Keivan Stassun, an astrophysics professor at Vanderbilt University who was among those fired from the National Science Board, said.
“It appears very likely that the White House, that this White House, will essentially withhold congressionally appropriated funding for NSF and just not allow the $9 billion per year of congressional appropriations to actually flow through the agency to research projects,” Stassun said.
The Trump administration has already canceled a series of foundation and National Institutes of Health grants, including a $2.2 million grant at Borough of Manhattan Community College. The funding supported research into how higher education helps or impedes the success of STEM students with chronic health conditions, according to the National Education Association.
“The removal of the National Science Board was just a clear indicator of the administration’s disdain for scientific expertise and investment in science and technology,” Stassun said.
On April 24, Trump fired 22 members of the National Science Board, prompting concerns over the administration’s systemic dismantling of government institutions and agencies.
The National Science Board, which was created by Congress in 1950, is responsible for overseeing the disbursement of funding for science research and education initiatives, from genetic research to STEM education.
This includes its latest plan, called the S&E Strategic Roadmap, to prioritize advancing equity and national security through diverse federal leadership and the expansion of research and development opportunities.
“The National Science Board represents the will of the people through their elected representatives in the Congress, having established through law how the nation’s investments in science and technology should be made,” Stassun said.
Members of the National Science Board were confirmed by the Senate until 2012, when Congress approved a law that removed the Senate-confirmation requirement for 168 positions in the federal government, including the members of the National Science Board.
In an email to Medill News Service, the White House said the Supreme Court’s reasoning in U.S. v. Arthrex in 2021 “raised constitutional questions about whether non-Senate confirmed appointees can exercise the authorities that Congress gave the National Science Board.”
“We look forward to working with the Hill to update the statute and ensure the NSB can perform its duties as Congress intended. The National Science Foundation’s work continues uninterrupted,” the statement read.
Congressional Democrats have spoken out about the board firing, describing the move as “unprecedented.”
The top Democrat on the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, said the terminations were the “latest stupid move” by a president seeking to harm American science.
“It unfortunately is no surprise a president who has attacked NSF from day one would seek to destroy the board that helps guide the foundation,” Lofgren said in a statement. “Will the president fill the NSB with MAGA loyalists who won’t stand up to him as he hands over our leadership in science to our adversaries?”
Republicans have said the move refocuses priorities.
House Science Committee Chair Brian Babin, R-Texas, supported the move, saying in an email to NPR, “every President expects advisors to serve in a manner consistent with executive and legislative priorities”.
Race with China
Trump’s ousting of board members interferes with the science and technology race between the United States and China, said Barbara R. Snyder, the president of the Association of American Universities that represents more than 70 U.S. research institutions.
“At a time when China is investing heavily in science and has matched or surpassed the United States in several key fields, dismantling the NSB’s independent voice sends exactly the wrong signal,”
Sixty percent of voters say it’s very important for the United States to be the global leader in medical research, according to a poll from the Public Opinion Strategies. Nearly all voters say it’s important.
But as of early 2026, China surpassed the U.S. in research development spending, research output and patent filings.
“The removal of the National Science Board is just a clear indicator of the administration’s disdain for scientific expertise and science and investment in science and technology as a national imperative investment in the next generation of science and engineering leaders,” Stassun said. “I can imagine that from the perspective of China, I’m sure they’re cheering it on.”