Executive Branch News
NSF Director Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan Tenders Resignation
On April 24, Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan tendered his resignation as Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Earlier this month, NSF announced the termination of 400 grants, targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, research on misinformation and disinformation, as well as other areas that did not align with the agency’s new priorities (see related article). His resignation also comes after reports that the White House directed NSF to slash its budget by 55 percent. During his term at NSF, Dr. Panchanathan, who was nominated to lead the agency by President Trump in 2020, led the agency through many advancements, including the bipartisan Congressional reauthorization of…
President Trump Executive Actions
Trump Administration Actions (all actions available here): Find COSSA’s full list of Trump’s Executive Actions and more information here or on the Social Science Space Tracker.
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…
NIH Director Bhattacharya Gives First Public Remarks at NIH Council of Councils
On April 21, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya presented his vision for NIH during a meeting of the NIH Council of Councils. The Council consists of approximately 30 members, selected from the various NIH Institute and Center (IC) Advisory Councils, representatives nominated by the Office of the Director program offices, and broad lay representation. It advises the NIH Director on matters related to the policies and activities of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI). As previously reported by COSSA, Bhattacharya was confirmed as NIH Director in late March. During his first public remarks since being confirmed,…
ICYMI: Trump Nominates Susan Monarez to Lead CDC
Earlier this month, President Trump nominated Dr. Susan Monarez to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Monarez, who holds a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been serving as the acting Director of the CDC following the departure of Dr. Mandy Cohen. As COSSA previously reported, President Trump initially nominated Dr. David Weldon for the role only to abruptly withdraw the nomination hours before his first Senate confirmation hearing. Previously, Monarez served as the deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and has held roles at the White House of Office of…
NSB Requests Nominations to Fill Upcoming Vacancies
The National Science Board (NSB) is seeking nominations to fill eight upcoming vacancies for the 2026-2032 term. NSB is the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF) that also serves as an independent advisor to the President and Congress on federal science policy. The board consists of 24 members who serve staggered six-year terms, with the NSF director serving as a 25th ex officio member. External nominations are considered by the NSB, which will then make recommendations to the White House. New members are appointed by the President of the United States. More information can be found in NSB’s Dear Colleague Letter. Nominations can…
Latest from the White House (April 1)
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. Eliminating the Department of Education As promised on the campaign trail, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) on March 20 that instructs the Education Secretary to begin the process of closing the U.S. Department of Education. The order, Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities, directs the Secretary to “facilitate the closure of…
Senate Confirms Bhattacharya as NIH Director and Kratsios as OSTP Director
On March 26, the Senate voted to confirm Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as the next Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in a 53-47 vote (see previous COSSA coverage). In his confirmation hearing, Dr. Bhattacharya confirmed that he would prioritize chronic disease research over infectious disease research, aligning with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as investing in cutting edge research. The Senate also confirmed Michael Kratsios as the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in a bipartisan 74-25 vote (see previous COSSA coverage). Kratsios served…
Latest from the White House (March 18)
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. Trump Eliminates Agencies On March 14, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO), Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, which eliminates several agencies “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,” including the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), among others. The Woodrow Wilson International Center…
NIH Director Nominee, Dr. Bhattacharya, Voted Through HELP Committee; CDC Nomination Pulled
On March 13, the nomination of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya advanced through the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in a 12-11 vote along party lines, overcoming the first hurdle for being confirmed as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director (see previous COSSA coverage). The next step is a confirmation vote by the full Senate, which has not yet been scheduled. During his confirmation hearing on March 5, Bhattacharya stated an intent to refocus NIH’s research efforts on addressing chronic diseases, aligning with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, as well as investing in cutting…
Latest from the White House (March 4)
COSSA continues to report on 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. ‘Radical Transparency’ About Wasteful Spending As previously reported by COSSA, the Trump Administration has prioritized cutting “government waste” in the first six weeks of his term. On February 18, an Executive Order (EO) was published titled, Radical Transparency About Wasteful Spending in which the Administration directs federal agencies to make public “the complete details of every terminated program, cancelled contract,…
Ron Jarmin Appointed as Acting Census Bureau Director
On February 20, the U.S Census Bureau appointed Dr. Ron Jarmin as Acting Director. This follows the resignation of former Census Bureau Director Rob Santos on January 30, three years into his five-year term (see previous COSSA coverage). Dr. Jarmin, a career employee of the Census Bureau since 1992 and elected fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA), previously served as Acting Director of the Bureau from January 2021 to January 2022 (see previous COSSA coverage). Dr. Jarmin is also the Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer at the Census Bureau. This article was contributed by COSSA Intern Sarah Wang.
Latest from the White House (February 18)
As previously reported, the Trump Administration has from day one been issuing a dizzying number of executive actions, some whose legality remain in question. Below are some of the latest developments coming out of the White House. Federal Workforce Last week, as part of an Executive Order on “workforce optimization,” the President’s Office of Personnel Management directed federal agencies to fire “trial and probationary” employees, providing little other guidance on how to do it. Typically, probationary employees are those within 1-3 years of service in their position. Democratic lawmakers and government worker unions are pushing back, arguing the long-term damage that…
President Trump Rescinds Executive Orders Impacting Executive Personnel Ethics Commitments and Census Parameters
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14148 rescinding a series of “Harmful Executive Orders and Actions” of the Biden Administration, including provisions affecting federal ethics and the census count. President Biden’s Executive Order 13989 required every executive agency appointee to sign an ethics pledge. This commitment prohibited appointees’ connections with lobbyist activities such as receiving gifts and leveraging the “revolving door” status of their position to later secure more favorable private and foreign job prospects, until at least two years after their service. Revoking these guidelines, Trump has aligned with his first-term actions, having issued his own 2017 Ethics Commitments before removing those…
Dorothy Fink Chosen to Serve as Acting HHS Secretary; Appoints Matthew Memoli as Acting NIH Director
Dorothy Fink M.D. has been appointed by President Trump to serve as acting Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) as confirmation hearings for the presidential nominee for the position, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., continue. Fink previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health and Director of the Office on Women’s Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH). Shortly after her appointment, Fink tapped Matthew Memoli, M.D., to serve as acting Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as the Senate works to confirm Jay Bhattacharya (see previous COSSA coverage). Memoli, a National Institute of Allergy and…
Trump Signs Executive Order Dismantling DEI Initiatives in Federal Agencies
On January 21, President Trump signed the Executive Order (EO), Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity. The EO makes bold claims that the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts of past administrations violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through adopting “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences” that have hindered opportunity for certain groups. This EO has resulted in a massive scale back of DEI initiatives across the federal agencies and the optional scale back of DEI initiatives across U.S. businesses. The directive requires federal agencies to place all federal DEI staff on paid leave with the intent of being…
Executive Action Affecting Federal Agencies
Since President Trump was sworn into office on January 20, several executive actions have been taken that have impacted social and behavioral science (SBS) research, including freezes on hiring federal workers and requiring federal workers to return to the office, a halt on all communications, spending, and travel within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and a memorandum from the White House Office of Budget and Management (OMB) instituting a freeze on federal spending across agencies that was rescinded two days later. As previously reported by COSSA, President Trump signed two Executive Orders (EO) implementing a hiring freeze…
Census Bureau Director Rob Santos Tenders Resignation
On January 30, Census Bureau Director Robert Santos resigned three years into his five-year term. His resignation comes after the House Oversight Committee held a hearing on the Census Bureau on December 5 which largely focused on whether the 2030 Census should include a citizenship question and President Trump’s recent rescission of the Biden Administration’s Executive Order (EO) affirming that the census should count all people, not only citizens, as per the 14th Amendment (see previous COSSA coverage). As a reminder, during his first-term, the Trump Administration attempted to add a citizenship question to the decennial census only for the Supreme Court to…
Nominations Open for Distinguished Lecturer at the 18th Matilda White Riley Honors
The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is accepting nominations for an outstanding social-behavioral scientist as candidates for Distinguished Lecturer at the 18th Matilda White Riley Honors. The Matilda White Riley Honors are an annual event recognizing transformative work in the fields of social and behavioral science along with early-career researchers. Nominees should have a research career that has “advanced behavioral and social scientific knowledge in areas within NIH’s mission and that expands upon Dr. White Riley’s work.” Nominees need not have NIH funding. More information is available on the OBSSR website. Nominee…
President Trump Signs First-Day Executive Orders to End Work from Home Policies and Freeze Hiring for Federal Work Force
On January 20, President Trump, in a series of first-day executive actions, signed an Executive Order (EO) titled “Return to In-Person Work” that requires all federal workers to return to in-person work “as soon as practicable”. This decision comes after the House Oversight Committee held a hearing on The Stay-at-Home Federal Workforce: Another Biden-Harris Legacy on January 15 to investigate the implications of the federal work from home policy. During the hearing, Republican members of the committee expressed concerns that federal policies like the work from home policy were infringing on the power of the Presidential Administration, a concern that has been…