House science committee reveals opposition statements from National Science Foundation staff members
The US National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are embroiled in disputes with the Trump administration, with employees raising concerns about political interference, mass firings, funding cuts, and retaliation that they claim are dismantling these agencies and undermining their scientific integrity.
Key details include:
- NSF Disputes: Over 140 NSF staff members, including Jesus Soriano, the president of the local AFGE chapter, signed an anonymous letter to Congress, warning that the Trump administration is dismantling the agency. The letter alleges that the administration is firing employees, slashing the budget by over 50%, killing research grants, and forcing the relocation of NSF headquarters. Additionally, a covert “ideological” grant review process is reported, which bypasses peer review and stifles innovation in STEM research.
- NIH and EPA Similar Issues: NIH and EPA employees have also raised alarms about politically motivated orders, retaliatory suspensions, and contract cancellations under Trump, fearing long-term damage to public health and environmental protections.
- Legal Actions and Grant Cuts: Researchers at the University of California system sued NSF and other federal agencies after the Trump administration terminated $324 million in grants. A federal judge ordered NSF to reinstate these funds. However, NSF later suspended grants to UCLA, citing allegations related to campus antisemitism and illegal race-based preferences in admissions. These actions have been viewed as politically motivated and legally questionable by agency staff and plaintiffs.
- Impact on Science and Public Health: Experts warn these actions cause immediate harm and risk irreparable long-term effects on agencies vital for climate science, public health, and environmental protection. The undermining of peer review and scientific integrity threatens the ability to respond to crises like pandemics and climate change effectively.
In sum, the disputes center on political interference disrupting agency missions, retaliatory personnel actions, funding cuts and reversals, and ideological controls over scientific research and grant processes under the Trump administration, provoking internal revolts, legal challenges, and widespread concern about long-term damage to US science policy and public health agencies.
Additional details include:
- The administration is withholding $2.2 billion from the NSF.
- The NSF employees' dissent declaration has been placed on indefinite hold (as of 22 July).
- The signatories argue that many of these dismissals lacked due process or legal justification.
- The dissent letter was signed by nearly 150 members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union representing NSF researchers, scientists, and administrative employees.
- The proposed budget cut for the NSF in financial year 2026 is 56%.
- The internal revolt at the National Science Foundation (NSF) escalated as over 140 employees, including Jesus Soriano, the president of the local AFGE chapter, signed an anonymous letter to Congress, alleging that the Trump administration's politically motivated actions are dismantling the agency, with mass firings, budget cuts exceeding 50%, and the cancellation of research grants.
- In a similar vein, concerns about political interference are proliferating within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with employees raising alarms about politically motivated orders, retaliatory suspensions, and contract cancellations, fearing long-term damage to public health and environmental protections.
- The snowballing effects of these administrative actions have led to legal challenges, such as the lawsuit filed by researchers at the University of California system against NSF and other federal agencies after the termination of $324 million in grants. Despite a federal judge ordering the reinstatement of these funds, NSF later suspended grants to UCLA, citing allegations related to campus antisemitism and race-based preferences in admissions, sparking controversy and raising questions about political motivations and legality.
