The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) future is in limbo as Trump pushes for more budget cuts and his nominee to helm the research agency awaits Senate confirmation.
Since Trump’s return to the White House, the administration has canceled or suspended nearly 1,400 of the agency’s grants, citing changing policy priorities. A series of internal changes, including layoffs and a shifting funding focus, have also contributed to a reduction in the number of new grants issued by the NSF, which funds a quarter of basic scientific research across the country.
Former NSF directors and organizations representing grant recipients warn that the dismantling of the agency, which serves as a counterpart to the National Institutes of Health, will ultimately curtail American scientific innovation.
We will never know how deep the damage this administration has done to the country goes. But we won’t be able to catch up to other countries in a long, long time.
