Trump Fires All 24 Members of America's National Science Board
Source: Slashdot
Background
America’s National Science Board (NSB) was established in 1950 to guide the governance of the National Science Foundation. The Washington Post describes its structure as “unusual … that echoes the setup of a company board in the private sector.” The board helps oversee an agency that operates Antarctic research stations, telescopes, a fleet of research vessels, and supports basic‑science research in laboratories across the United States. NSF research has contributed to technologies such as MRIs, cellphones, and LASIK eye surgery.
“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 Washington Post
Trump’s Action
Yesterday President Donald Trump fired all 24 members of the National Science Board, the body that oversees the NSF, according to Science magazine.
The NSB advises the administration and Congress on national science policy and has statutory authority to oversee the actions of the $9 billion NSF, setting policy and approving large expenditures. Its members are presidential appointees—typically prominent academics and industry leaders—who serve six‑year terms, with eight members chosen every two years.
Reactions
Keivan Stassun, an astrophysicist at Vanderbilt University and one of the dismissed board members, said the mass firing signals that the White House is ignoring the board’s authority and dictating NSF policies. Stassun noted that the board’s public criticism in May 2025 of Trump’s proposed 55 % cut to the NSF budget—an effort that Congress ultimately rejected—may have antagonized the administration.
“Maybe one way to say it from the administration’s perspective,” Stassun said, “is that this group of presidential appointees was advising the Congress to not follow the president’s wishes.”
The Washington Post added that “the White House did not immediately respond to inquiries about why the members were terminated.”