Trump fires entire National Science Board, ending 76 years of independent science oversight
The Trump administration fired all 22 members of the National Science Board on April 24, 2026, dismantling the independent body that has guided US basic science funding since 1950. The NSB directs roughly $9 billion in National Science Foundation grants and advises both the president and Congress on research priorities. No official explanation was given.
The board's role
The NSB is not a ceremonial committee. Established by Congress, it sets policy for the NSF — the federal agency behind foundational research that eventually produced technologies like GPS, MRI scanners, and the internet's early infrastructure. Legally, its members must be "eminent" in their scientific fields, per Nature. Private industry rarely funds the kind of basic science that takes a decade or more to yield results; the NSB existed precisely to fill that gap.
The cuts behind the firing
The dismissals did not happen in a vacuum. The NSB publicly criticized the administration's proposed 55% cut to the NSF budget in May 2025 — Congress blocked that particular cut, but a similar reduction is reportedly planned for 2027. Since January 2025, NSF has already lost 30% of its staff, and the agency has granted 51% less funding compared to the 2015–2024 average, according to Science | AAAS. NSF's headquarters building has also been handed over to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Board chair Keivan Stassun called the terminations the latest move to erase NSF's independence, saying the administration has been ignoring the board's statutory authority for months.
What happens next
Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), who sits on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, warned the move opens the door to replacing independent scientists with political loyalists who will rubber-stamp further cuts. Her concern: handing research policy to non-experts could surrender long-term technology leadership to China and the EU, both of which have been ramping up structured investment in basic science.
> "This is an apolitical body that advises the president on the future of NSF. Dismantling it is a blow to American science. It could lead to the replacement of scientific advisors with loyalist figures, weakening the US position in global competition." — Zoe Lofgren
Whether the terminations violate the statute that created the NSB remains legally unresolved. The administration has announced no timeline for replacements, leaving the NSF — already gutted — without a governing board for the foreseeable future.
