Apr 28, 2026
"The Budget cuts funding for: climate; clean energy; woke social, behavioral and economic sciences; and programs in low priority areas of science."
That's what President Donald J. Trump's FY2026 budget provided as rationale when he asked for a budget cut exceeding 55% for the National Science Foundation (NSF) (1). Those cuts didn't end up going through (2) and he's now trying again for FY2027 (3).
Advertisement
In the meantime, Trump just fired every member of the National Science Board (NSB), the advisory group that oversees the NSF, with no explanation (4). Generally, Congress is required to fully dissolve a federal organization, although the administration has gotten away with similar organization-wide dismissals before (5).
Without the NSB, it will be harder for the NSF to maintain independence — especially if they're all replaced by members who are loyal to the current administration.
Trump has previously said he hopes to help the US "achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence" (6). But his moves against the NSF run counter to those claims — and could end up hurting AI, quantum and chip startups significantly.
The NSB is part of a larger anti-science pattern
Trump's FY2026 budget uses the word "woke" 12 times (7). The FY2027 budget uses it 34 times (8). Each time, it's associated with a request for a budget cut and over half of the time, the budget cut is aimed at a program or organization associated with science, health and/or education.
It includes phrases such as "woke Green New Deal"; "woke climate research"; "woke STEM programming"; and, of course, "woke social, behavioral and economic sciences."
Trump has used phrases like "woke" and "DEI" as a reason to defund science since the start of his presidency, when he issued an Executive Order calling for agencies to "terminate… all DEI, DEIA and 'environmental justice' offices and positions" (9). He's continued to do so throughout his career.
While research areas that he considers to be "woke" or "DEI" suffer most, researchers have had to weather federal funding cuts across the board. Competitive NIH grants are down by half for fiscal 2026 when compared to the same point in fiscal 2025 (10). In turn, competitive grants in 2025 were down by 15% compared to previous years.
Between January 2025 and February 2026, almost 15,000 STEM and health jobs were cut at government agencies focused on science. Other federal workers didn't see job loss at nearly the same rate.
Advertisement
The NSF stands out, even among other science-based agencies: It lost over 40% of its members in that time frame. By comparison, the next-hardest hit agency was at the CDC, which lost over 20% of its members.
Must Read
- Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — are you doing the same?
- Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how
- Robert Kiyosaki says this 1 asset will surge 400% in a year and begs investors not to miss this ‘explosion’
Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews first — clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
Why NSB firings spell danger for AI, quantum and chip startups
In both of his federal budgets, Trump says that he hopes to support AI and quantum research in the same line where he calls for budget cuts to the relevant organizations. These losses to the NSF might not be as clean-cut as he imagines.
The NSF is one of the biggest federal funders of AI and quantum research (11). Between 2018 and 2023, the NSF funded 18% of highly-cited US articles on those subjects, significantly more than any other federal agency. Between 2022 and 2025, it invested over $289 million in seed funding across almost 600 AI and quantum companies.
The NSF losing both members and funding could make it harder for these companies to get the funding they need, even if other research areas suffer more.
AI isn't safe from being targeted by anti-woke measures. In a July 2025 Executive Order titled "Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government" (12), Trump said that agency heads should not use AI services that "manipulate responses in favor of ideological dogmas such as DEI."
If the administration has more control over what the NSF funds, then AI startups might have to deal with the same push to avoid "wokeness" that other scientific researchers are fighting.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
The White House (1),(3),(7),(8),(9),(12); FedScoop (2); Scientific American (4); Nature (5); AI.gov (6); The Washington Post (10); National Science Foundation (11)
You May Also Like
- Turning 50 with $0 saved for retirement? Most people don’t realize they’re actually just entering their prime earning decade. Here are 6 ways to catch up fast
- Inside a $1B real estate fund offering access to thousands of income-producing rental properties — with flexible minimums starting at $10
- Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich in America — and that ‘anyone’ can do it
- Here are 5 easy ways to own multiple properties like Bezos and Beyoncé. You can start with $10 (and no, you don’t have to manage a single thing)
Kit Pulliam is a DC-based financial journalist with over five years of experience writing, editing, and fact-checking financial content. They've covered a wide variety of financial topics, including banking, taxes, budgeting, investing, politics, the economy, and government policy.
