In a significant move, the Trump administration has reportedly fired all 22 members of the National Science Board (NSB), the body that governs the government-funded National Science Foundation.
This mass dismissal is the latest step in a radical restructuring of the federal workforce, following downsizing of the Department of Education and the effective elimination of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
“The termination email was brief and to the point, with a ‘thank you for your service,” Beachy, an emeritus biology professor at Washington University in St Louis, told Al Jazeera.
“The nature of the board – partisan or independent? – and how it interacts with the agency is of critical importance to the continuing success of the NSF,” Beachy said.
“This is the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to harm science and American innovation,” Zoe Lofgren, the most senior member of the US House of Representatives’ science committee, said in a statement.
Given the gravity of the situation, Democratic lawmakers-who had earlier reported receiving notice of the firings from unspecified sources- condemned the Trump administration’s action.
Under a cost-cutting initiative led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in 2025, the administration scrapped or halted over 1,600 NSF grants totaling nearly $1 billion in savings.
The administration previously proposed halving the NSF’s budget and has consistently targeted the agency for sweeping reductions to decrease federal spending.
Founded in 1950, the NSF is a cornerstone of American innovation; in 2025 alone, it invested over $8 billion into scientific research and education.
However, the agency has been without a confirmed director for a year and has reportedly lost approximately one-third of its staff since the beginning of 2025 due to layoffs and resignations.
