Science & Research Policy

Officials say the policy, which would make it easier to fire thousands of government employees, is designed to increase accountability. But experts say it would increase corruption and threaten the nation’s health and economy.

The billions in proposed funding cuts would involve restructuring and consolidating the National Institutes of Health and slashing the majority of the National Science Foundation’s budget for scholarships and fellowships.

The National Science Foundation says major budget cuts, restructuring and priority changes are designed to build a more robust STEM workforce. But experts say the changes, which include axing education-related programs, will have the opposite effect.

The Trump administration staged an unprecedented intervention in this year’s Fulbright selection process, rejecting finalists whose research deals with race, gender or climate change.

The head of the American Council on Education said the legislation would make higher ed more elite, while Trump’s cuts to research funding risk the country’s standing as a global superpower.