Science Policy This Week: January 26, 2026

What’s Ahead

A snowy path leading around the Capitol Building.

Architect of the Capitol

Some science funding signed into law, partial shutdown looms

On Friday, President Donald Trump signed a funding package covering a large portion of federal science agencies, including NASA, NOAA, NIST, USGS, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Those agencies are now funded through fiscal year 2026, which ends in September. The package included a mix of cuts and increases, but overall rejected the deep cuts to science that Trump proposed in his budget request. Details can be found in FYI’s budget tracker.

Congress has until midnight this Friday to pass six remaining funding bills to avoid a partial government shutdown just two months after the last shutdown. The remaining bills, which have already cleared the House, cover the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health, among other agencies. Senators plan to return from recess tomorrow evening, following snow-related delays. However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has said Democrats will not support the bill funding the Department of Homeland Security, which is currently part of the six-bill package, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers killed another U.S. citizen in Minnesota. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) are reportedly considering splitting the DHS bill from the other five bills. If they do so, the bills would need to pass the House again in their repackaged form. The House is not scheduled to be in session this week. Any bills that pass both chambers will also need the president’s approval.

The stopgap funding bill that reopened the government in November also blocked any reductions in force at federal agencies through the end of January and nullified notices issued during the shutdown. The administration issued hundreds of RIF notices during the shutdown to staff at DOE, USGS, and other agencies.

House committee joins push to reauthorize quantum initiative

The House Science Committee held a hearing last week on quantum science and technology, with an eye toward reauthorizing the National Quantum Initiative. Committee Chair Brian Babin (R-TX) and Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) said in the hearing that they were working on an NQI reauthorization bill. Representatives of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science discussed their agencies’ progress in quantum science since the original NQI Act was enacted in 2018. NASA is not part of the NQI, but the Senate reauthorization bill introduced earlier this month would expand the initiative to include NASA’s quantum research programs. U.S. reliance on foreign scientists was a point of contention in the hearing. Some witnesses said the U.S. faces a workforce shortage in quantum science, and all said foreign-born scientists play an important role. However, some Republican representatives expressed concern about scientists from other countries working on quantum research at U.S. universities and bringing that knowledge back to their home countries.

Scientists reject Trump’s Greenland claims

Hundreds of U.S.-based scientists who have conducted research in Greenland have signed a letter rejecting President Donald Trump’s “aggressive stance” on the autonomous territory, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and plays an important role in global climate research. “By collaborating and sharing their extensive knowledge, offering friendship and countless forms of research support, and allowing foreign scientists to conduct research on their land, Greenland’s scientists and citizens have made enormous contributions to the world’s understanding of the Arctic and how rapid Arctic changes are affecting people around the world,” the letter says. The letter was first published on Jan. 9 and urges Americans to support Greenland’s right to self-governance.

Trump tried unsuccessfully to purchase Greenland during his first term and has threatened to take control of it in recent weeks, alarming European allies. Tensions ebbed somewhat last week after Trump said he would not use military force to annex Greenland and stepped back from his threat to impose tariffs on European countries that refused to support his claim on the territory. On Wednesday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” the details of which are unclear.

Also on our radar

NSF is seeking proposals from public and private entities to take over programs and infrastructure managed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, including its Mesa Lab in Colorado. NSF announced its intent last month to break up NCAR and “restructure” its critical weather science infrastructure.
The National Academies and multiple organizations representing research institutions and scientists have published policy recommendations in response to an OSTP RFI on “accelerating the American scientific enterprise.”
OSTP published a report highlighting the science and technology achievements of the Trump administration over the past year, spotlighting Gold Standard Science, the AI Action Plan, and research security efforts, among other policies.
NSF’s Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday and Friday this week. The meeting will feature updates from NASA, NSF, DOE, and the DESI and CMB experiments, as well as a discussion on AI.
A federal judge has rejected a request from AAUP’s Harvard faculty chapter to expand the public speech protections it won for its members in the fall to other non-US citizens nationwide.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will make its Doomsday Clock announcement on Tuesday.