Trump Removes All National Science Board Members

President Donald Trump has removed all members of the National Science Board (NSB).

“All 22 current members of the National Science Board were terminated on Friday effective immediately,” Yolanda Gil, senior director for major strategic artificial intelligence and data science initiatives at the University of Southern California and one of the members, told The Epoch Times in an email on April 27.

Gil said that the board had been finalizing a report on science and engineering.

Keivan Stassun, a professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt University, told The Epoch Times on Monday that he was informed by the White House Office of Presidential Personnel on April 24 of his removal from the board.

Stassun said that there was no reasoning provided.

“The National Science Board was created by an act of Congress in 1950 with the purpose of ensuring that our nation remains at the forefront of basic scientific research and technology to maintain our competitiveness in the world, and the removal of that body represents a major step backward for our nation, at a time in human history when the future will be won or lost on the basis of science and technology,” Stassun said.

When asked why the members were removed, a White House official told The Epoch Times via email that a 2021 Supreme Court decision “raised constitutional questions about whether non-Senate confirmed appointees can exercise the authorities that Congress gave the National Science Board.”

“We look forward to working with the Hill to update the statute and ensure the NSB can perform its duties as Congress intended,” the official stated. “The National Science Foundation’s work continues uninterrupted.”

Congress established the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote scientific progress, advance health, and strengthen national defense. It funds research and hosts workshops, among other work, and has helped create innovations such as 3D printing and magnetic resonance imaging.

The foundation has had no director since Sethuraman Panchanathan resigned in 2025, saying he felt it was “time to pass the baton to new leadership,” after layoffs and grant cancellations. Trump recently nominated Jim O’Neill to serve as the foundation’s director. The Senate has yet to take up the nomination.

Lawmakers also created the NSB to guide NSF policies and advise Congress and the president on science- and engineering-related matters. The president appoints the board members to six-year terms. One-third of the board is appointed biennially. Some of the removed members had been slated to depart on May 10.

“Every President expects advisors to serve in a manner consistent with executive and legislative priorities,” Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, told The Epoch Times via email.

“I look forward to seeing whom President Trump selects to fill the NSB and refocus our science agencies on their core mission: pursuing science.”

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the panel, said that her staffers had learned from multiple sources that Trump had fired every board member.

“This is the latest stupid move made by a president who continues to harm science and American innovation,” she said in a statement.

“The NSB is apolitical. It advises the president on the future of NSF. 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. 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?”

The board’s most recent meeting was on Feb. 25. Its next meeting is slated for May 5.

In his 2027 budget request, Trump proposed reducing the funding for the National Science Foundation by about 55 percent. A similar reduction was requested for the 2026 budget, but Congress ultimately kept funding levels largely unchanged.

Other committees have been completely remade during the Trump administration, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel. In March, a federal judge ruled that the replacement appointments were being stayed as litigation proceeds because Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did not follow proper procedure in appointing new members.