Key Facts

• All 22 members of the National Science Board were terminated immediately by President Trump’s administration via email.
• The National Science Board advises the President and Congress on science and engineering issues and helps guide the National Science Foundation (NSF).
• Board members serve six-year terms that overlap to keep continuity.
• The board was set to meet soon to discuss concerns about the U.S. losing scientific ground to China.
• The NSF was created in 1950 to promote U.S. leadership in science and technology.
• The Trump administration proposed cutting the NSF’s $9 billion budget by over half and ended many research grants.
• NSF’s current director, appointed by Trump, resigned amid these challenges, and Trump nominated biotech investor Jim O’Neill, who lacks scientific experience, as the next director.
• Similar changes happened at other health and science advisory boards, including replacing expert members with political allies.