# Trump Just Fired Every Scientist on America's $9 Billion Research Board — All 24 of Them **URL:** \ **Category:** News & Articles\ **Tags:** awareness\ **Created:** [May 4, 2026, 4:43pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/trump-just-fired-every-scientist-on-americas-9-billion-research-board-all-24-of-them/321739 "2026-05-04T16:43:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PlayBoy83](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/playboy83/32/164314_2.png) [@PlayBoy83](https://onehack.st/u/PlayBoy83)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:43pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/trump-just-fired-every-scientist-on-americas-9-billion-research-board-all-24-of-them/321739/1 "2026-05-04T16:43:07Z")
# 🔬 Trump Just Fired Every Scientist on America’s $9 Billion Research Board — All 24 of Them _They criticized his budget cuts. He sent them a one-line email. Now the agency behind the internet, MRI, and GPS has no oversight._ **On April 24, 2026, the White House fired all 22 seated members of the [National Science Board](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Science_Board) — the group that’s been steering $9 billion in U.S. research funding since 1950. No warning. No explanation. Just an email that said “terminated, effective immediately.”** The board had ONE job that apparently crossed a line: they publicly told Congress that cutting the NSF budget by 55% was a terrible idea. Congress agreed with the scientists and rejected the cut. The White House agreed with itself and fired everybody. ![Science Lab Fire](https://media.giphy.com/media/yfEjNtvqFBfTa/giphy.gif) * * * > **🧩 Dumb Mode Dictionary** > > | Term | What It Actually Means | > | --- | --- | > | **NSF (National Science Foundation)** | The U.S. government’s main science-funding piggy bank — $9 billion/year that pays for research at universities | > | **National Science Board (NSB)** | The 24-person board that decides WHERE the NSF money goes and makes sure it’s spent wisely — like a board of directors | > | **Budget sequestration** | When the government automatically slashes spending because politicians can’t agree on a budget | > | **Grant success rate** | The percentage of scientists who apply for research money and actually get it | > | **STEM** | Science, Technology, Engineering, Math — the subjects that build basically everything modern | > **📖 What Actually Happened** > > - The White House sent a one-line termination email to every member of the National Science Board on a Friday evening > - Zero explanation was given — no “you did a bad job” or “we’re restructuring” > - The White House later cited a [2021 Supreme Court case](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Arthrex,_Inc.) about whether non-Senate-confirmed people can have this kind of power. Legal experts said that reasoning [doesn’t really hold up](https://www.npr.org/2026/04/28/nx-s1-5801465/national-science-board-trump-firing) > - Board member **Keivan Stassun** (astrophysicist at Vanderbilt) basically said the quiet part out loud: the board was “advising Congress to not follow the president’s wishes” > - This board has existed since **1950** — 76 years of continuous operation, through every president, until now > **😤 Why Was the Board on His List?** > > Here’s the timeline that matters: > > - **May 2025:** Trump proposes cutting the NSF budget by **$4.7 billion** — that’s **55% of the entire agency** > - **Late 2025:** The National Science Board publicly tells Congress “please don’t do this” > - **Late 2025:** Congress listens to the scientists and rejects the cut > - **April 2026:** Every board member gets fired > > I mean. Connect the dots. A group of scientists said “this is a bad idea,” Congress agreed with them instead of the president, and now those scientists are all unemployed. That’s not subtle. > **📊 What This $9 Billion Actually Built** > > Before you think “whatever, who cares about some nerds on a board,” here’s what the [NSF has funded](https://www.nsf.gov/impacts) over the decades: > > | Invention | NSF Connection | > | --- | --- | > | **The Internet** | NSF took over from DARPA in the 1980s and opened it to the public in 1993 | > | **MRI machines** | NSF grants from 1955-1990 turned magnetic resonance into a medical tool | > | **GPS** | NSF quantum research made satellite positioning possible | > | **LASIK eye surgery** | Came directly from NSF-funded laser research | > | **Barcodes** | First one created in 1974 with NSF funding | > | **Doppler radar** | The thing that warns you about tornadoes — NSF | > | **CRISPR** | The gene-editing tech that’s rewriting medicine — early funding from NSF | > > If the proposed cuts go through, the grant success rate drops from **26% to 7%**. That means 93 out of 100 researchers asking for money will be told no. > **🗣️ What Scientists Are Saying** > > **Willie May** (former director of NIST, Morgan State University): _“I have watched the systematic dismantling of the scientific advisory infrastructure of this government with growing alarm.”_ > > **Dan Reed** (former NSB chair, University of Utah): Called the firing [“unprecedented”](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/entire-nsf-science-advisory-board-fired-by-trump-administration/) in the foundation’s 76-year history. > > **Rep. Zoe Lofgren** (D-CA, House Science Committee): Called it an [“attack on science”](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01361-7) and pointed out that NSF funded technologies like the internet and CRISPR. > > **Rep. Brian Babin** (R-TX, House Science Committee Chair): Said advisors should align with “executive and legislative priorities.” So… yes, he said the quiet part loud too. > > The NSF also has **no permanent director** right now. The previous one resigned a year ago. So you’ve got a $9 billion agency with no board AND no boss. Cool. > **🔍 The Bigger Picture** > > This isn’t happening in a vacuum. The [2027 budget proposal](https://cen.acs.org/policy/trump-budget-fy2027-science-nsf-epa-nih-fda/104/web/2026/04) goes even harder: > > - **57% overall cut** to the NSF proposed AGAIN > - The engineering and STEM education departments would lose **75% of their funding** > - Math and physical sciences would lose **$1 billion** (two-thirds of current funding) > - One of two proposed giant telescopes would be killed entirely > - The gravitational wave observatory (the one that detected actual ripples in spacetime) would lose half its funding > - **Postdoctoral fellowships** — basically how America trains its next generation of scientists — would be almost entirely gutted > - Programs to get more diverse students into science: cut from **$1.6 billion to $171 million** (that’s a 90% cut) > > Congress has blocked most of these cuts so far. But firing the oversight board removes one of the main voices telling Congress “hey, this is insane.” * * * #### Cool. The People Steering $9 Billion in Science Just Got Mass-Fired… Now What the Hell Do We Do? ( ͡ಠ ʖ̯ ͡ಠ) ![Science DIY](https://media.giphy.com/media/xTiTnJq93MSMQh2QMg/giphy.gif) > **🔬 Sell 'Grant Rescue' Packages to Panicking Researchers** > > Every single university lab that depends on NSF funding is currently losing its mind. Researchers who’ve spent years writing grant proposals are now staring at a 7% success rate. Here’s the angle: build a consulting service that helps scientists rewrite their NSF grants to fit whatever the new political priorities are — or redirects them to private funding sources like the [Simons Foundation](https://www.simonsfoundation.org/) or [Moore Foundation](https://www.moore.org/) that most researchers don’t even know about. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A freelance grant writer in Nairobi, Kenya started a “grant translation” service for East African researchers applying to European funding bodies. She charges $500 per proposal review and did 40 last quarter — $20K from helping scientists navigate bureaucracy. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** The panic is peaking RIGHT NOW. Every funding cycle deadline between now and October 2026 is your window. > **📊 Build a 'Federal Funding Tracker' Dashboard for Universities** > > Universities have entire departments dedicated to tracking which federal grants are available, which are frozen, and which are about to disappear. Right now that information is scattered across [grants.gov](https://www.grants.gov/), agency websites, and rumors on academic Twitter. Scrape all of it into one clean dashboard. Charge university research offices $200/month for real-time alerts. There are over [4,000 degree-granting institutions](https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=84) in the U.S. alone. Even if 1% subscribe, that’s $96K/year. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A dev duo in Lisbon, Portugal built a similar tracker for EU Horizon grants using Python and a Telegram bot. They charge €150/month and have 180 subscribers — roughly €27K/month, mostly from small university labs in Eastern Europe who couldn’t afford a full grants office. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** Start scraping now. The FY2027 budget fight starts this summer and every research office will be scrambling. > **🧪 Flip the 'Citizen Science' Boom Into Content and Courses** > > When federal funding dries up, citizen science explodes. Projects like [Zooniverse](https://www.zooniverse.org/), [iNaturalist](https://www.inaturalist.org/), and [Foldit](https://fold.it/) are already massive, but there’s no good centralized content teaching regular people how to actually participate in real research. Create a YouTube channel or course series that walks normal humans through contributing to active scientific projects — bird counting, protein folding, galaxy classification. Monetize with sponsorships from science equipment companies and membership communities. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A biology teacher in Bogotá, Colombia started a Spanish-language YouTube channel about citizen science projects people could join from their phones. Within 8 months, 45K subscribers. She now makes $3K/month from memberships and a partnership with a microscope company. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** Content about “science the government won’t fund” is going to trend hard over the next 12 months. Start building your library NOW. > **💡 Launch a 'Science Refugee' Matchmaking Platform** > > Thousands of early-career scientists — postdocs, grad students, lab techs — are about to lose their positions when labs close or shrink. Meanwhile, private biotech companies, international universities, and research nonprofits are desperate for trained talent. Build a niche job board specifically for displaced U.S. researchers. Think “[Handshake](https://joinhandshake.com/) but for scientists whose grants just got axed.” Charge employers a listing fee ($150-300/post) and offer premium placement. > > 🧠 _Example:_ After Brexit, a recruiter in Dublin, Ireland built a niche placement board for EU researchers leaving UK universities. She charged £200 per listing and matched over 600 researchers in year one — pulling in roughly £90K from listing fees and recruiter commissions from biotech firms. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** The hiring freeze panic starts hitting labs in Q3 2026. Have the platform live by August. > **🛠️ Follow-Up Actions** > > | Step | Action | > | --- | --- | > | 1 | Watch the [FY2027 budget negotiations](https://www.science.org/content/article/final-nsf-budget-proposal-jettisons-one-giant-telescope-amid-savage-agencywide-cuts) — Congress has blocked cuts before and may again | > | 2 | Track which NSF directorates get hit hardest — that’s where displaced talent and panicked labs will be | > | 3 | Monitor [grants.gov](https://www.grants.gov/) for new funding opportunity announcements (or lack thereof) | > | 4 | Follow academic Twitter/Bluesky for real-time info on which labs are closing or freezing hiring | > | 5 | Check the [American Association for the Advancement of Science](https://www.aaas.org/) policy tracker for legislative updates | * * * **⚡ Quick Hits** | Want to… | Do this | | --- | --- | | 🔍 Understand the full scope | Read [Nature’s coverage](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01361-7) of the firing and what it means for U.S. science | | 📊 See what NSF actually funds | Browse the [NSF Impacts page](https://www.nsf.gov/impacts) — it’s wild how much daily tech traces back here | | 🧠 Track the budget fight | Follow [Science magazine’s policy page](https://www.science.org/topic/funding) for real-time updates | | 📱 Find citizen science projects | Join [Zooniverse](https://www.zooniverse.org/) — you can contribute to real research from your phone right now | | 💼 Displaced researcher? | Check [AAAS career resources](https://www.aaas.org/programs/career-resources) for transition help | * * * _They built the internet, MRI, and GPS with that budget. But sure, fire the people who protect it — what could go wrong._