
A rendering of the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope, which NSF has declined to advance to the agency’s final design phase.
Courtesy of the TMT International Observatory
Proposed science cuts coming into focus
The Trump administration has begun elaborating on its proposed budget for fiscal year 2026, publishing some agency-specific documents and a government-wide summary
The National Science Foundation’s full budget request
Despite suggested cuts to high-profile science facilities, the administration does propose to increase NSF’s major facility construction budget to $251 million, up from $234 million in fiscal year 2024. The lion’s share of this budget ($201 million) would go to the planned Leadership-Class Computing Facility led by the University of Texas at Austin.
AI and quantum information science are the only crosscutting research areas that are protected from major cuts in the budget proposal. NSF estimates the total number of competitive grant awards would plummet from around 9,600 to 2,300, and the proposal acceptance rate would drop from 26% to 7%.
NASA’s request
Presidential budgets have historically served more as an indication of policy priorities than an exact blueprint for spending decisions, and Congress will advance its own spending proposals this summer. Any final discretionary spending legislation will need bipartisan support in the Senate to overcome the 60-vote threshold needed to advance bills in that chamber.
DOE begins terminating major clean energy projects
The Department of Energy terminated
State Department forges ahead with plans to dissolve science offices
A major reorganization of the State Department that would eliminate multiple science offices
The organizational chart
McNutt to deliver second ‘State of the Science’ speech
National Academy of Sciences President Maria McNutt will deliver the second annual State of the Science address
Also on our radar
- President Donald Trump has withdrawn his nomination of Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, reportedly
- A group of 16 states sued
- Democrats on the House Science Committee have launched a call for information
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will testify before Senate and House appropriators on Wednesday
- The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will meet
AIP has launched two email newsletters focused on the history of the physical sciences. A weekly edition features an article focusing on history and the work of the history community. For instance, the May 16 edition,
All events are Eastern Time unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement. Events beyond this week are listed on our website.
Monday, June 2
American Meteorological Society: Science Policy Colloquium
SCSP: AI+ Expo
National Academies: Functions and Criteria for a New Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events Committee, meeting two
NIST: Lunar policy for a thriving lunar economy
2:00 - 3:30 pm
Tuesday, June 3
National Science Policy Network: Exploring diverse career paths in science policy
USRA: Outer Planets Assessment Group meeting
National Academies: Board on Science Education meeting
Hudson Institute: Fair use or infringement: examining the copyright office’s report on generative AI training
8:00 - 9:00 am
CNAS: America’s edge: 2025 national security conference
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Senate: Department of Education budget request hearing
10:00 am, Appropriations Committee
Columbia: The impact of the Trump administration’s nuclear executive orders
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
CSIS: Spotlighting the role of creativity and ownership in the US patent system
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
R&D Caucus: Not just universities: How NSF funding opens community college pathways to the future of work and the American dream
12:00 - 1:00 pm
National Academies: The state of the science address
3:00 - 5:00 pm
The Science Coalition: The science of economic growth
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Wednesday, June 4
National Academies: AI for sustainability: Maximizing benefits for the US
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Senate: Commerce Department budget request hearing
10:00 am, Appropriations Committee
CSIS: America’s ‘Golden Dome’ explained
10:00 - 10:45 am
House: Examining the policies and priorities of the Department of Education
10:15 am, Education and Workforce Committee
Senate: NNSA budget request hearing
2:30 pm, Appropriations Committee
National Academy of Sciences: Physics-guided AI for accelerating scientific discovery
7:00 - 8:00 pm
Thursday, June 5
Council on Governmental Relations: June 2025 meeting
National Academies: Evaluation of ARPA-E’s mission and goals, meeting six
House: Pursuing the golden age of innovation: Strategic priorities in biotechnology
10:00 am, Science Committee
House: The federal government in the age of artificial intelligence
10:00 am, Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Commerce Department: Materials and Equipment Technical Advisory Committee meeting
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Senate: Meeting to advance bills on quantum research and extending the International Organizations Immunities Act to CERN
10:30 am, Foreign Relations Committee
House: Commerce Department budget request hearing
11:00 am, Appropriations Committee
American Enterprise Institute: Emerging technologies and strategic competition: A conversation with Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)
2:30 - 3:30 pm
National Academies: Traumatic brain injury: Launching a new era of classification
4:00 - 6:30 pm
Union of Concerned Scientists: Protecting public science: How to defend scientific integrity in a new era of interference
7:00 - 8:00 pm
Friday, June 6
National Academies: Improving the regulatory efficiency and reducing administrative workload to strengthen competitiveness of US research
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Monday, June 9
American Astronomical Society: 246th meeting
RAND: Deep seabed mining webinar
12:00 - 1:00 pm
Deadlines indicated in parentheses. Newly added opportunities are marked with a diamond.
On April 15, the Trump administration extended
Job Openings
◆ControlAI: Policy advisor, AI safety and security
◆APS: Associate editor, quantum science and technologies
◆Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): Legislative assistant, science policy
Zeiss Group: US representative for public and government affairs
OpenAI: Director of public sector partner management
Aerospace Industries Association: Technical policy director
RAND: Technical AI policy associate
AIAA: Aerospace America editor in chief
Columbus Technologies: Scientific program analyst, NIH
Simons Foundation: Program coordinator, science, society and culture
Lawrence Livermore National Lab: Associate deputy director for science and technology
UN: Office of Outer Space Affairs government relations officer
ANS: Congressional science and engineering fellowship
Solicitations
National Academies: Research regulatory efficiency consensus study survey
Grant Watch: Collection form for NSF grant cancellations
Grant Watch: Collection form for NIH grant cancellations
AAS: Grant cancellation survey
AAAS: Assessing the impacts of federal policies on the US STEMM community
APS: Survey collecting stories about the positive impact of federally funded research
◆National Academies: Workshop on quantum sensing to aid in countering unmanned aerial systems: Call for experts
OPM: RFC on reclassification of policy employees
State Department: RFC on J-1 visa waiver recommendation application
◆DOE: RFC on rescinding regulations for loans for minority business enterprises seeking DOE contracts and assistance
Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
News and views currently in circulation. Links do not imply endorsement.
White House
Wall Street Journal: The punch that launched Trump’s war on American universities
Wall Street Journal: Why does Trump keep saying Harvard teaches remedial math?
Science: What does Trump’s call for ‘gold standard science’ really mean?
Science: To boost nuclear power, Trump orders controversial rewrite of radiation safety rules
Fox News: Trump unleashes US nuclear renaissance with bold executive orders
White House: Made in the USA: President Trump’s vision is revitalizing American industry
Wired: DOGE is busier than ever — and Trump says Elon Musk is ‘really not leaving’
Congress
Roll Call: ‘Big, Beautiful’ bill heads to Senate
Politico: White House plans — at last — to send some DOGE cuts to Hill
E&E News: Congress set for clash over Trump spending cuts
AAS: Scientific societies issue letter to Congress regarding NSF reorganizations and cuts
University World News: Can Duke’s campus in China survive congressional pressure?
IEEE Spectrum: Record number of members visit Congress to talk tech policy
Science, Society, and the Economy
Science: Philanthropist gives $90 million to support theoretical physics research
Wall Street Journal: Targeting Chinese students threatens the bottom line at American universities
Foreign Affairs: Trump is killing American innovation: And China will reap the benefits
ChinaTalk: The Cold War history of export controls
Education and Workforce
Politico: Trump team pauses new student visa interviews as it weighs expanding social media vetting
Politico: On Chinese student visa rollback, MAGA scores another victory over tech
Politico: The Chinese student crackdown years in the making
New York Times: Experts who warn of risks posed by Chinese students are skeptical of Trump plan
New York Times: Why the US opened its doors to Chinese students, and why Trump is closing them
New York Times: The US deported this Chinese scientist, in a decision that changed world history
New York Times: Judge finds government acted illegally in Russian scientist case
University World News: More Japanese universities set admission quotas for women in STEM
Research Management
Politico: RFK Jr. threatens to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals
GAO: Monitoring of external NIH research can be improved
Stat: A Harvard scientist built a database of 2,100 NIH grant terminations. Then his own funding was cut
Issues in Science and Technology: Let unfunded grant applications see the light of day
NSF OIG: Evaluation of safety and health concerns in the US Antarctic Program
Labs and Facilities
Science: China is quietly preparing to build a gigantic telescope
Lawrence Livermore National Lab: DOE Secretary Wright gets up-close look at innovation in action during LLNL visit
FedScoop: DOE announces another supercomputer: Doudna
Science|Business: CERN expands its collaboration on the Einstein Telescope
Computing and Communications
Wired: Trump’s crackdown on foreign student visas could derail critical AI research
NIST: How NIST helped start an industry: Our role in jump-starting quantum information science
Bloomberg: Nvidia faces bipartisan concern on China research facility plans
SpaceNews: New report details China’s push to dominate artificial intelligence
Brookings: The coming AI backlash will shape future regulation
Space
SpacePolicyOnline: NASA copes with details of $6 billion budget cut, leadership uncertainty
NASA Watch: Michael Altenhofen is NASA deputy chief of staff
NASA Watch: ISS R&D Conference cancellation
New York Times: Sonic detectives want to help SpaceX listen up
SpaceNews: University of Colorado, Boulder to announce new space policy center
Weather, Climate, and Environment
CNN: Climate and weather scientists are joining the anti-Trump resistance in the most ‘scientist-iest’ way
Hechinger Report: So much for saving the planet. Climate careers, and many others, evaporate for class of 2025
MIT Technology Review: The Trump administration has shut down more than 100 climate studies
Research Professional: Norway to remove climate data from US servers over ‘concern’
E&E News: Chaos at FEMA, NOAA as hurricane season starts
Nature: The polar regions hold crucial scientific secrets — and the time to study them is running out
Energy
Politico: Musk, Tesla blast GOP plans to end clean energy tax credits in megabill
New York Times: US dependence on China for rare earth magnets is causing shortages
Financial Times: Drive to scrub carbon from air stalls as Donald Trump takes aim at renewables
ITIF: Addressing symptoms, not the system: Comments on the recent nuclear energy executive order
Defense
DefenseNews: Hegseth cuts Pentagon’s testing office in half, appoints new leader
DefenseNews: Behemoth Golden Dome may face lackluster scrutiny in Trump’s Pentagon
Union of Concerned Scientists: Plutonium pit production: The risks and costs of US plans to build new nuclear weapons
Breaking Defense: US cuts to commercial space imagery could endanger ‘long term health’ of industry, say insiders
DefenseScoop: DOD guidance clamps down on procurement of non-commercial products
Biomedical
Politico: Trump’s NIH chief lets loose on Fauci, vaccines and COVID cover-ups
The Guardian: Doctors fear ‘devastating consequences’ for pregnant people after RFK Jr order on COVID-19 boosters
Washington Post: It’s not hard to see through RFK Jr.’s ‘radical transparency’ pledge
Stat: White House acknowledges problems in RFK Jr.’s MAHA report
FactCheck.org: RFK Jr. denies cuts to scientific research while slashing staff, funding
Stat: mRNA, once lauded as a scientific marvel, is now a government target
International Affairs
AP: China says US moves on computer chips and student visas ‘seriously violate’ tariffs truce
Nature: Hong Kong universities woo Harvard international students targeted by Trump
New York Times: World scientists look elsewhere as US labs stagger under Trump cuts
Nature: ‘A funeral for our careers’: Trump’s science cuts spill onto Canadian turf
FedScoop: A requiem for innovation: Bidding farewell to State’s Office of eDiplomacy
Science|Business: Israel’s academy pleads with Europe not to cut ties. But critics say sanctions are needed to stop the country starving civilians
Science: New Zealand, betting on innovation and economic growth, cuts existing science funds
Research Professional: UK science policy has a new priority: national survival
Nature: ‘Scienticide’ in Argentina sparks huge protest by researchers