The Trump administration has terminated multiple members of the National Science Foundation’s governing board. The move has raised concerns among scientists and lawmakers about the agency’s future direction.
Members of the National Science Board received notices from the White House Presidential Personnel Office informing them that their roles were ending immediately.
“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 message read.
Board member Marvi Matos Rodriguez said she learned of her termination while reviewing materials tied to her role. She had been serving on the board since 2022.
“The idea of having six-year terms is you get to do something significant, impactful and go beyond administration, political administrations,” Rodriguez said.
It remains unclear how many members were removed or whether replacements will be named. The White House and the National Science Foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, sharply criticized the decision.
“The NSB is apolitical,” Lofgren said in a statement. “It advises the president on the future of NSF.”
She accused the administration of undermining scientific leadership and independence.
“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,” she said.
Lofgren also questioned whether future appointees would remain independent.
“Will the president fill the NSB with MAGA loyalists who won’t stand up to him as he hands over our leadership in science to our adversaries?” she said.
The National Science Foundation has faced broader changes since Trump returned to office. The administration has canceled or suspended nearly 1,400 grants, citing shifting policy priorities.
Those grants account for roughly a quarter of federally funded basic scientific research in the United States. Critics, including former NSF directors, have warned that continued cuts could weaken the nation’s scientific standing.
The administration’s proposed 2027 budget seeks to reduce NSF funding by more than half. An Office of Management and Budget spokesperson previously said the cuts reflect “a strategic alignment of resources in a constrained fiscal environment.”
President Trump has nominated Jim O’Neill to lead the agency. His nomination is currently pending before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
This comes as the midterms are less than six months away.
Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters said Republicans may outspend Democrats this election cycle, a dramatic reversal from past campaigns where Democrats often held the fundraising advantage.
Gruters argued Republicans are entering the midterm cycle with significantly stronger financial positioning and unprecedented coordination across the conservative movement.
Host Mike Slater asked Gruters to put the reported $70 million Democrats spent in Virginia’s recent redistricting battle into perspective.
“How much money is that to the parties?” Slater asked.
Gruters responded by painting a bleak financial picture for Democrats.
“The DNC has minus 4 million [dollars], and it wasn’t the DNC that plowed $70 million: It was the collective,” Gruters said.
“So, if you look at the collective on the right, we may have $800 million,” he continued.
“The collective on the left may have $350 million, and when you have the court, there’s gonna be a court case that is ruled on in the next week or two, coordinated campaign limits, which will magnify that, which will allow full coordination and allow the parties to spend at the candidate rate, which is massive for us,” he said.
Gruters said the financial landscape could mark a historic break from previous election cycles.
“When you have that financial advantage, people, you know, people don’t know that the Democrats routinely spend more than us on election cycles, because they have more massive donors and that will write massive checks,” he said.
“But this time, this cycle [we] will either spend a parity or will outspend them, and that’s never happened before,” he added.
According to Gruters, the RNC itself is in far stronger shape than the Democratic National Committee.
He said the RNC currently has “about $125 million” on hand compared to what he described as negative cash reserves at the DNC.
Gruters also pointed to allied Republican organizations as part of a broader coordinated effort.
A brand new Real Polling in Real Time with Zogby found that Democrats and Republicans are essentially tied months before November’s crucial midterm elections, possibly spelling bad news for the Democratic Party.
The Zogby Strategies survey on the 2026 Generic Congressional Ballot found that Democrats are at 46.3 percent and Republicans are at 45.8 percent.
The significance of the poll shows a sharp drop from the pollster’s previous (February) result, which found Democrats leading by +5 points. It’s essentially a statistical tie within the margin of error.