White House Terminates All 22 National Science Board Members, Leaving NSF Leadership Vacant

The White House terminated all 22 current members of the National Science Board on Friday, according to multiple sources including board member Yolanda Gil. Members received an email from President Trump’s presidential personnel office stating, '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.

Keivan Stassun, a professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt University and director of the Vanderbilt Initiative in Data-intensive Astrophysics, received the termination email on Friday afternoon. Stassun, who has served on the board since 2022, reached out to fellow board members afterward. About a third of the members contacted by Stassun reported receiving the same notice.

The White House has not provided any reason for the dismissals and has not indicated when or whether the members will be replaced. The White House did not respond to questions from The Times. S.

President and Congress. The board establishes policies for the National Science Foundation and advises on its operations. Yolanda Gil, a research professor of computer science and spatial sciences and principal scientist at USC Information Sciences Institute, has served on the board since 2024.

Gil stated, 'Given that the NSF director position has been vacant for a year, and that the NSB’s main role is governing NSF, the agency is left in a very precarious position. Over the last two years, the White House has proposed drastic reductions in the NSF budget, according to Gil.

The National Science Foundation was established as an independent federal agency when former President Truman signed the National Science Foundation Act of 1950.

Truman stated, 'The establishment of the National Science Foundation is a major landmark in the history of science in the United States. We have come to know that our ability to survive and grow as a nation depends to a very large degree upon our scientific progress. Moreover, it is not enough simply to keep abreast of the rest of the world in scientific matters.

The NSF, created more than 75 years ago, has a budget of over $9 billion and supports fundamental research and education across all non-medical fields of science and engineering. Keivan Stassun said, 'The genesis of it was to recognize that the world was increasingly being won or lost on the basis of scientific and technological capability.

The National Science Board is typically composed of 25 scientists and engineers from universities and industry across the nation.

U.S. president and traditionally serve six-year terms. Rep. Lofgren stated that the board is apolitical and advises the president on the future of NSF. She added, '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? ' Sethuraman Panchanathan, a computer scientist and academic administrator, resigned as NSF director in April 2025. The NSF director position has remained unfilled since then.

In March, President Trump nominated James O’Neill, a venture capitalist and biotech investor who served as former deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, to lead the NSF. O’Neill has yet to appear before Congress for a hearing. Dr.

Julian Reyes, chief of staff of the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote in a blog post, 'O’Neill would be the first head of NSF who wasn’t a scientist or engineer. Last year, dozens of experts were dismissed from National Institute of Health science review boards.

All 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which provides federal recommendations on vaccines, were removed.