Legal Insurrection by Leslie Eastman 2/20/2025
As the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health get the DOGE-treatment, scientists are filled with dread.Before COVID, Americans generally trusted its scientists.
Post-COVID, Americans’ trust in science has declined significantly. In 2023, only 57% of American adults said science had a “mostly positive” effect on society, down 16 percentage points from pre-pandemic levels. The percentage of Americans with strong trust in scientists fell from 39% in 2020 to 23%.
Now two of the major institutions funding American science are receiving the DOGE- treatment, as the Department of Government Efficiency staff has begun looking at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health. There appears to be an effort to streamline and refocus these groups so they support actual science rather than narrative support.
NSF has already terminated 168 probationary employees, representing approximately 10% of its workforce.
The National Science Foundation fired 170 probationary employees and experts Tuesday as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce, the agency confirmed.
In a written statement, NSF spokesman Mike England pointed to President Donald Trump’s executive order last week that included plans to reduce the size of the federal workforce as part of the work of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
“To ensure compliance with this E.O. the National Science Foundation has released 168 employees from Federal service effective today,” England said Tuesday. “We thank these employees for their service to NSF and their contributions to advance the agency mission.”
And as those probationary employees were hired under the Biden administration, the move is likely to benefit real science.
NSF grants are also being targeted, especially if they contain the hallmarks of Diversity-Equity-Inclusion.
More:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/02/doge-battles-to-free-ideologically-captured-scientific-institutions/
