Latest from the White House (April 29)
COSSA continues to follow the flurry of executive actions taken by the Trump Administration and the impact those actions are having on the social and behavioral science community. Below are some of the latest developments coming out of the White House. Past updates are available here.
DOGE Arrives at NSF
Earlier this month, the President’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the group led by Elon Musk, arrived at the National Science Foundation (NSF). A chain of serious events followed their visit, underscoring the power bestowed on DOGE to upend existing agency operations.
The team of DOGE officials arrived at NSF on April 14; by the end of the week, more than 400 grants would be terminated and external advisory committees “de-established.” A second round of grant terminations occurred on April 25 and the NSF Director resigned April 24.
The reason given for the recent grant terminations, according to the NSF website, Updates on NSF priorities, is that they were found to run afoul of the President’s Executive Order (EO) on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The NSF website states:
“NSF’s broadening participation activities, including activities undertaken in fulfillment of the Broader Impacts criterion, and research on broadening participation, must aim to create opportunities for all Americans everywhere.
These efforts should not preference some groups at the expense of others, or directly/indirectly exclude individuals or groups. Research projects with more narrow impact limited to subgroups of people based on protected class or characteristics do not effectuate NSF priorities.”
The elimination of NSF advisory committees, including those for the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate and the STEM Education Directorate (EDU), was said to be in response to the President’s EO on Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.
Late last week, following these dramatic developments, NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan resigned, stating in an email to staff that “I believe I have done all I can do to advance the mission of the agency and feel that it is time for me to pass the baton to new leadership.” Panchanathan’s six-year term was set to end next year; he was originally appointed by Trump in 2020.
The Community Responds
The research community and champions in Congress alike have come out in strong opposition to the actions of the last few weeks.
On April 17, the House Science Committee Democrats released a minority staff report specifically criticizing a report authored by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in October 2024 accusing NSF of spending $2 billion on grants “that promoted neo-Marxist perspectives or DEI tenets.” The staff report, and a letter to NSF from Science Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), call out the erroneous methods used in the Cruz report and question the decision by NSF to use similar methods for determining which grants are to the eliminated.
In addition, researchers directly affected by the grant terminations are contributing to a database that allows the public to see which grants have been terminated. According to the website, “We are tracking these grants to increase transparency, organize affected PIs, and facilitate responses, including via litigation. Please share the form as widely as possible with your networks.”