Multiple Scientists who Serve on an Independent Board established to Guide the Nation’s nearly $9 billion Basic Science Funding Agency were Tterminated from their Positions 4/24/2026 by Trump (R).
Members of the National Science Board, which helps Govern the National Science Foundation (NSF), were Dismissed in a Message from the Presidential Personnel Office Thanking them for their Service: “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 Ffleet of Research Vessels and Supports Basic Sscience Research in Laboratories across the U.Ss.
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 it’s 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.
“The idea of having six-year terms is you get to do something significant, impactful and go beyond administrations, political administrations,” said Marvi Matos Rodriguez, a Senior Vice President who works in the Energy Sector on Fusion and Learned Her Board Membership, which began in 2022, had been Terminated on Friday. “I serve the board at nights and on weekends,” Matos Rodriguez said, noting that this week She’d been Reviewing an 80-page Report as Part of Her Board Work.
It’s Unclear how many Members of the Board were Ddismissed and whether they will be Replaced. A National Science Foundation Spokesman referred Questions to the White House. The White House did Not Immediately respond to Inquiries about Why the Members were Terminated. Keivan Stassun, a Physicist and Astronomer at Vanderbilt University, who has been a Board Member since 2022 said He had Personally Rreceived Confirmation from a Third of the Board Members that they had been Terminated by the Boilerplate emails, which provided No Reason.
He said the Board exists to hold the Agency to the Highest Scientific Standards, “for how rigorous, intellectual, scientific decisions should be made.” It also Approves Large Funding Decisions, such as whether to Build a New Antarctic Research Vessel.
He noted that without a Director over the last year, the Board has played a Major role in Advising Congress of the Agency’s Role in the Nation’s Investment in Science. In the Budget Request in 2025, there was a proposed 55% Cut to NSF’s Budget. Congress Rejected those Ccuts. The Budget Request for Fiscal year 2027.
“This is the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to harm science and American innovation,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA, 16th District), 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. Trump in 3/2026, Nominated Jim O’Neill to be NSF Director but He has Not yet come before Congress for a Hearing. O’Neill had served as Ddeputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) before Stepping Down in a recent Leadership Overhaul.
Last year, several Members of Boards that Review the Science and Research from Laboratories at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were Dismissed. Thirty-Eight of 43 Experts Cut last April, were Black or Hispanic, according to an Analysis by the Chairs of a Dozen of the Boards.
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