Shitstain Fires At Least 6 Members Of Independent Board That Governs The National Science Foundation

Multiple scientists who serve on an independent board established to guide the nation’s nearly $9 billion basic science funding agency were terminated from their positions Friday by President Donald Trump. Members of the National Science Board, which helps govern the National Science Foundation, were dismissed in a message from the Presidential Personnel Office thanking them for their service, according to screenshots shared with The Washington Post: “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I’m writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately.”

The National Science Board was established in 1950 to guide the governance of the National Science Foundation, in an unusual structure within the federal government that echoes the setup of a company board in the private sector. It helps guide an agency that operates Antarctic research stations, telescopes, a fleet of research vessels and supports basic science research in laboratories across the United States. The NSF has a long history of supporting technology and research that powers many innovations the world relies on today. The agency helped language-learning app Duolingo get its start. NSF research has also helped evolve technology used in MRIs, cellphones and LASIK eye surgery.

The board’s members are scientists and engineers from universities and industry and are appointed by the president, but they serve six-year terms, ensuring overlap between different administrations. There are typically 25 members, but some slots are empty — including the NSF director, which has been vacant since the former director who was appointed during the first Trump administration, Sethuraman Panchanathan abruptly resigned a year ago.

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The president’s budget request for fiscal year 2027 also proposes a deep cut to NSF, and Stassun questioned whether the timing of the cuts were connected to the work the board does in advising Congress of the agency’s importance, even as the president has aimed to cut it. “This is the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to harm science and American innovation,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (California), the ranking Democrat on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. “The NSB is apolitical. It advises the president on the future of NSF. 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.” The shake up on the board is the latest turmoil for the agency that is supposed to help keep U.S. science at the leading edge. Last year NSF had to cancel more than 1,000 active research grants.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2026/04/25/national-science-board-members-dismissed/

https://wapo.st/3P3DSY2