NSF Grant Cuts Under Trump Spark Backlash from Scientific Community

WASHINGTON, D.C. — May 25, 2025 The Trump administration has enacted sweeping cuts to research funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), abruptly canceling more than 380 grants totaling an estimated $233 million. The cuts have stunned the U.S. scientific community, particularly because many of the affected projects center on diversity, equity, climate change, and public health—topics increasingly targeted by conservative policymakers.

Researchers across the country were notified without warning that their grants had been rescinded, halting work on initiatives ranging from environmental conservation and AI education to vaccine misinformation and mental health. Some institutions have described the move as an unprecedented disruption to the nation’s research infrastructure, with ripple effects impacting students, faculty, and collaborative projects.

In response, over 1,900 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine signed a public letter denouncing the administration’s actions and warning that long-term damage to U.S. science leadership may be irreversible. Legal challenges have already begun, with a federal court issuing a temporary block earlier this year on related freezes to federal education aid.

The cuts appear to be part of a broader rollback in scientific investment, as the administration’s 2026 budget proposes slashing the NSF’s funding by over 50 percent. As researchers scramble to salvage their work or relocate their efforts abroad, the controversy has raised fundamental questions about the future of science policy in the United States.

*Sources:
*https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/05/22/upshot/nsf-grants-trump-cuts.html
*https://apnews.com/article/e989c978f273fb1a94c2e47b78843d64
*https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/05/trump-defund-schools-research-republicans/682742/