Hundreds of Science Agency Employees Criticize Changes Under Trump

Hundreds of employees at the National Science Foundation and NASA signed onto letters issued last week that protest policy changes since the start of the Trump administration, including workforce reductions and grant terminations. The letters reveal major shifts inside the agencies, only some of which have previously been reported.

“As civil servants, NSF employees are bound by their oath to uphold the Constitution,” the NSF letter reads. “That oath now compels us to call attention to actions that jeopardize NSF’s mission, its independence, and the foundational laws that protect the federal workforce from politicization and abuse.”

NASA’s letter similarly states that “we are compelled to speak up when our leadership prioritizes political momentum over human safety, scientific advancement, and efficient use of public resources.”

The NSF letter says fear of retaliation, lack of job stability, and abrupt return-to-office orders pushed hundreds to retire early or resign. The letter also highlights the administration’s plans to fire staff in the Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM through reductions in force. NSF has lost one-third of its staff since the start of the Trump administration, said Jesus Soriano, a program officer at NSF and president of the union that represents the agency, at a press conference with the top Democrat on the House Science Committee. The agency had around 1,700 employees in January.

The NASA letter states that thousands of the agency’s civil servants have resigned, retired early, or been terminated, “taking with them highly specialized, irreplaceable knowledge.” The agency said Saturday that nearly 4,000 employees, about 20% of NASA’s workforce, are retiring early or resigning — fewer than 1,000 took the deferred resignation offer in the first round that ended in February, while 3,000 accepted the offer in the second round that ended last week.

Both letters accuse the administration of interfering with congressionally appropriated funding. The NSF letter states that the White House is withholding $2.2 billion of the agency’s funds for fiscal year 2025, while the NASA letter states that the agency is closing out missions even though they are funded in FY25, representing “a permanent loss in capability.”

The NSF letter criticizes Trump’s budget request for the coming fiscal year, saying it would “cripple American science.” The request proposes a 56% cut to NSF’s total budget and more than 70% cuts to biological sciences, engineering, and STEM education. If enacted, these cuts would eliminate funding for over 250,000 researchers and students, the letter adds.

The NSF letter also highlights the administration’s “eviction” of the agency from its current headquarters “without any transparent planning, cost-benefit justification, or identified destination,” the extension of probationary periods from one year to two, and a secondary review process of NSF programs and proposals by “unqualified political appointees,” which Soriano said is performed at high levels of NSF with input from the Trump administration.

The NASA letter further criticizes cuts to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs and the proposed elimination of the Office of STEM Engagement. It accuses the administration of “abandoning” allies by canceling NASA participation in international missions, and protests changes to NASA’s system of safety checks and balances.

The NSF signers include 149 current agency employees, some of whom chose to sign anonymously and others whose names were redacted in the public version of the document. The NASA signers include 363 current and former NASA employees from every NASA center and mission directorate, some named and some anonymous.

The NSF letter asks the House Science Committee to “defend” NSF’s civil service protections and mission, while the NASA dissent letter, like those signed by employees of the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency in the last two months, addresses concerns to the agency head. NIH employees were the first to issue their dissent letter, also known as the Bethesda Declaration, on June 9, and signers met with agency Director Jay Bhattacharya last week.

NSF employees sent the letter as an official whistleblower complaint to protect the signers from retaliation, according to a Democratic press release, after the publication of the EPA letter resulted in over 100 signers being placed on administrative leave.

The NASA letter references an agency policy directive on respecting “diverse views… with no suppression or retribution.” The letter says it constitutes a formal dissent that “warrants a timely review and decision by higher-level management.”