Sam McKagan

BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled.

🥳 UPDATE (good): NSF's website now says that, effective today, it's restoring these subset of terminated NSF awards.

Applies to 114 NSF awards to 45 institutions that had U of California researchers as project leaders.

www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...

a yellow minion wearing red boxing gloves is standing in a boxing ring . Alt: A yellow minion wearing red boxing gloves is standing in a boxing ring .

Yesterday's Supreme Court decision on nationwide injunctions is one of the worst of 2025 so far.

Yet, these tools still exist:

1️⃣ More class-action lawsuits
2️⃣ More plaintiffs joining
3️⃣ Faster final judgements on the merits
4️⃣ Arguments about "complete relief"

🧵 Using science funding as example...

Coalition Files Suit Challenging DOGE Attacks on Congressionally-Approved STEM Programs - Democracy Forward

I am proud to work for an organization (AAPT) that is part of this awesome lawsuit: democracyforward.org/updates/coal...

For those with despair about today's extreme proposed funding cuts for NIH, NSF, NASA, NOAA, etc... remember:

CONGRESS 👏 SETS 👏 BUDGET 👏 LEVELS

Today's news is simply just the President's **request**.

Tell your elected representatives to REJECT this assault on science and scientific training.

a man is holding his head with his eyes closed and the words focus focus focus behind him . Alt: A man is holding his head with his eyes closed and the words focus focus focus behind him .

🧪 What the f is going on with NSF right now??? 🚨🚨🚨

There's been so many NSF updates within the past 48 hours that it's hard to keep track.

It feels like an onslaught. It *is* an onslaught. But it's still vital to remain focused, organized, and strategic.

So here's my recap of past 48 hours...

NEW: We (mostly @noamross.net) launched a website to shine a brighter light on terminated NIH and NSF grants.

grant-watch.us

It links to our NIH & NSF trackers, grant info submission forms, and other info. We'll also add new analyses soon.

Check it out and let us know what else you'd like to see.

🚨 Attention NSF folks with terminated grants!

This guide on filing appeals is for another agency (NEH), but has a lot of helpful general tips that also apply to NSF.

Loved this point on *why* you should appeal. I'll add: it gets you in a head space for arguments to advance elsewhere too.

a woman is making a peace sign with her hand and the words `` stay strong '' behind her . Alt: a woman is making a peace sign with her hand and the words `` stay strong '' behind her .

Shout out to all the hard working program officers and administration staff holding on at the NSF (and other federal agencies). Your work is appreciated and more meaningful with every passing day.

Graphic of Washington Post poll from April 18-22, 2025, showing "Majorities of Americans oppose various Trump proposals" highlighting two lines in particular: "Increasing the Federal Government's role in how private universities operate" - 28 percent support, 70 percent oppose "Reducing federal funding for medical research" - 21 percent support, 77 percent oppose

University leaders need to understand: they are holding INCREDIBLY good cards.

It is so rare in today's polarized era to have the support of 70+ percent of the public against the Trump admiministration on anything. Universities have that—AND winning legal arguments.

Harvard Medical researcher sues NIH for cutting grant to study LGBTQ mental health "This is not just an attack on the LGBTQ community — it is a blow to the integrity of science and the health of every American," a Harvard Medical School associate professor studying the mental…

⛔ NIH ended ALL of my grants mid-project, given LGBTQ health focus 🏳️‍🌈

⚖️ So what am I doing? Suing RFK, Jr.

As one team member shared in this story👇: "The threats to our work don’t just make me fear for my career — they make me fear for my safety.“

#SaveDemocracy #SupportScience #PublicHealth

I have work to do but I'm distracted by watching US scientific progress & leadership being irreversibly undermined because a few unelected malcontents are penalizing researchers for following legal requirements set out by congressional orders to augment basic research with benefits to society.

MESSAGE to the NSF Pl Community, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-25-13, issued on January 27, 2025, directs all Federal agencies to conduct a comprehensive review of their financial assistance programs to determine programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by the recent Executive Orders. Therefore, all review panels, new awards, and all payments of funds under open awards will be paused as the agency conducts the required reviews and analysis. NSF has created an Executive Order Implementation webpage to ensure the widest dissemination of information and updates. We will continue to communicate with you as we receive additional guidance. All NSF grantees must comply with these Executive Orders, and any other relevant Executive Orders issued, by ceasing all non-compliant grant and award activities. Executive Orders are posted at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/.In particular, this may include, but is not limited to conferences, trainings, workshops, considerations for staffing and participant selection, and any other grant activity that uses or promotes the use of DEIA principles and frameworks or violates Federal anti-discrimination laws. Please work with your institutional research office to assist you in complying with the Executive Orders. You can also direct your questions through the form on this NSF webpage. Thank you for your work advancing science, engineering, technology and innovation for our nation. Sethuraman Panchanathan Director

Received this e-mail from the NSF this morning.

The webpage it directs you to for submitting questions doesn’t give you any way to receive a response; when you submit a question it says “Your response has been submitted” and claims that they’ll put together a FAQ page.

If you can share personal stories of how the spending freeze impacted you, that will help.

If you have REPUBLICAN senators, please contact them to (a) thank them for their pressure to reverse this freeze, and (b) urge them to vote against Vought's nomination to the Office of Management and Budget, because no one who is willing to send illegal memos on spending should be in charge of it.

More details about Trump's reversal of the spending freeze: The reversal was due to pressure from Republican lawmakers who didn't like the chaos. Schumer now urging Republican senators to vote against Trump’s nominee for the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought.

thehill.com/homenews/511...

Trump White House reverses course, rescinds freeze on federal grants The reversal followed criticism of the sudden freeze by the White House budget office.

"The White House budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing federal grants, according to a copy of a new memo obtained by The Washington Post, after the administration’s move to halt spending earlier this week provoked a backlash."

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Republicans don't give a shit about Africans dying of AIDS because we've halted distribution of HIV drugs or poor Americans not eating because we've halted distribution of food stamps. But they used to care about American science & competitiveness, so urge them to stop this disaster on those grounds

If this attack on American science were coming from Russia or China, we would rightly consider it a dangerous threat. But it's coming from our own government.

Republicans have always said they care about American competitiveness, but shutting down American science is the opposite of that. This pause will irrevocably damage American science. Publicly-funded science is part of what makes America great.

illegal impoundment of federal funding Sent this to my senators Murray and Cantwell and my congresswoman Jayapal: Dear Representative, I am physics education researcher. I conduct research on how physics teachers thinking about their te…

Please call or write to your senators and representatives and ask them to speak up about the illegal and unconstitutional impoundment of federal funds. My representatives are Democrats, but contacting Republicans is even more important.

letterstothepeopleincharge.wordpress.com/2025/01/28/i...

Reliable and abundant funding for scientific research Sent this to my senators Murray and Cantwell and my congresswoman Jayapal: Dear Representative, I’m hearing reports that National Science Foundation review panels were canceled this morning w…

Call your representatives in congress today and let them know that shutting down NSF and NIH programs is unacceptable. Here is my letter to my representatives if you want to copy and/or use for inspiration. letterstothepeopleincharge.wordpress.com/2025/01/27/r...

My work is 100% funded by the National Science Foundation, and without it, I don't have a job. Publicly funded scientific research by agencies like the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health is one of the things that actually makes America great.

I'm hearing reports that National Science Foundation review panels were canceled this morning while "the agency is assessing the impacts of last week’s Executive Orders on our grantmaking."

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

bsky.app/search?q=nsf