Dr. Nicole Else-Quest

“Delay, Interfere, Undermine” President Donald Trump has praised Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele as a crime fighter, but new reporting based on interviews and documents reveals how senior Salvadoran officials have impeded a U.S....

Breaking @propublica.org: Bukele of El Salvador has become one of Trump’s favorite authoritarians, and Trump touts him as a foe of MS-13. But a US investigation has found evidence he has colluded with the gang, even paying it for votes.
www.propublica.org/article/buke...

Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding The Trump administration cut research funding that sought cures for future pandemics, examined the causes of dementia and tried to prevent HIV transmission. More than 150 researchers shared with ProPu...

NEW: The Trump administration said their research did not "enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness."

Thousands of scientists disagreed.

We heard from +150 researchers impacted by the NIH grant terminations on what is being lost in the cuts. 🧵👇
projects.propublica.org/nih-cuts-res...

The disparity btwn what’s actually happening in Los Angeles and the way it’s being mischaracterized is one of the biggest stress tests of modern media in recent memory. Botted socials, AI, old clips, declining literacy—it’s like seeing a broken emergency response system hit by a storm.

All the ways the Trump administration is going after colleges and universities In seeking to reshape elite universities, the Trump administration is using several tactics, including freezing federal grants and contracts, and threatening colleges' tax-exempt status.

In seeking to reshape elite universities, the Trump administration is using several tactics, including freezing federal grants and contracts, and threatening colleges' tax-exempt status. https://n.pr/4l23AGU

A word cloud made from flagged terms in terminated NIH grant proposals. The most prominent words in large font include “trans,” “diverse,” “diversity,” “minority,” “sex,” “expression,” “mental health,” “gender,” and “women.” Other visible terms include “LGBTQ,” “racial,” “underrepresented,” “disability,” “barriers,” “black,” “equity,” “health equity,” “vaccine,” “bias,” and “intersectionality.” The word cloud highlights terms related to identity, inclusion, and marginalized communities.

HAPPY PRIDE 🏳️‍🌈

Under Trump, research using terms like “Trans,” “LGBTQ,” & “Gender identity” is being defunded. These terms reflect real people who deserve science that includes them.

Stand with us to protect LGBTQ+ science from political erasure.
grant-watch.us/nih-data.html
@rcmedphys.bsky.social

It's Friday Night, which means Trump's weekly science bloodbath.

BUT WHY DOES HE DO THIS ON FRIDAY NIGHTS?

Simple: He's a coward!

Americans overwhelmingly support science! His attack on science is unpopular and he wants to bury it in the news cycle.

Not on our watch.
#StandUpForScience

Senior Researchers 60,400 --> 16,900 Other Professionals 14,400 --> 4,100 Postdoctoral Associates 5,500 --> 1,000 Graduate Students 41,500 --> 12,400 Undergraduate Students 37,300 --> 8,000 PreK-12 Teachers 42,900 --> 8,200 PreK-12 Students 128,100 --> 39,400 Total Number of People 330,100 --> 90,000

🚨🚨 Friday night news drop from National Science Foundation!! 🧪

NSF just released its detailed budget request for next year: nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...

We knew it was going to be bad...and it lives up. Guts direct NSF support for a **quarter million people**

🧵 on some highlights...

NSF logo

AERA and other scientific societies sent a letter to Congress today expressing concern about imminent threats to NSF’s structure and operations. The letter urges Congress to use its oversight authority to ensure the NSF can carry out its statutory mission. aas.org/sites/defaul...

Who’s surprised that a crusader for pseudoscience cites fake sources?
🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗

Tell us you don’t care about poor people without saying you don’t care about poor people…

With recent moves like this, CFPB no longer protects consumers.

Restoring Gold Standard Science By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7301 of title 5, United

tl;dr — this EO co-opts the language of open science to implement a system of political control wherein presidential appointees are given broad latitude to designate any number of reasonable scientific activities and inferences as scientific misconduct, and to penalize those involved accordingly.

Is a photo subversive? NSF staff overcome obstacles to 75th anniversary portrait Management tried to quash outpouring of support for beleaguered agency

Hundreds of National Science Foundation staffers turned out for a group photograph to celebrate the besieged agency’s 75th anniversary—despite efforts by NSF officials to prevent the picture from being taken. scim.ag/4jcGpIt

I am a staunch free speech supporter. But after ten years of freaking out about woke students deplatforming right-wing speakers, I don't have the energy to pivot to criticizing a fascist president for launching an all-out attack on free expression at universities.

Today’s the last day to comment!

Don’t let OPM institutionalize the politicization of #science!
#savensf

(1) any further approval, disapproval, or certification of ARRPs by OMB and OPM, whether formal or informal, express or implied; (2) any further waivers of statutorily-mandated RIF notice periods by OMB and OPM, whether formal or informal, express or implied; (3) any further orders by DOGE, whether formal or informal, express or implied, to agencies to cut programs or staff in conjunction with implementing the Executive Order, the OMB/OPM Memorandum, or the ARRPs; (4) any further implementation of ARRPs, including but not limited to the following actions, to the extent they are taken to implement Executive Order 14210 and/or the OMB/OPM Memorandum: (a) execution of any existing RIF notices (including final separation of employees), (b) issuance of any further RIF notices, (c) placement of employees on administrative leave, and (d) transfer of functions or programs between the agency defendants. However, this injunction shall not limit federal agency defendants from presenting reorganization proposals for legislative approval or engaging in their own internal planning activities without the involvement of OMB, OPM, or DOGE, provided that they do not implement any of the prohibited actions above.

And BOOM! Here's the official preliminary injunction. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

It orders:

Prospective relief: HALTS further firings, cutting programs, reorganization plans, etc. at NSF, HHS/NIH, Energy, etc.

Excerpt below.

Retrospective relief: Not yet, while it's on appeal.

These radical cuts will not make America great.

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.

🧪 Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades! Call your reps, especially if they are Republicans! We must #resist #StandUpForScience www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

🧪 Detailed data viz NYT article, out today, on the extent of funding cuts at the National Science Foundation.

This "broken pie chart" is neat & new to me: Powerfully shows the slowdown in new NSF awards across areas.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Federal grants: it's SO much worse than you know. The idea that only ideologically radical grants were cut is a profound lie. Funds were cut, stalled, AND HHS is not paying bills even if awards were NOT cancelled. The $ stopped, illegally and without explanation
grant-watch.us/posts/700-ne...

9/ Administrations change! BUT career civil servants contribute to the stability that is essential for the long-term survival of our democracy.

Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule to increase career employee accountability. Agency supervisors report great difficulty removing employees for poor performance or misconduc...

8/ Add your voice! Public comments have been steadily increasing!
Be sure to include this info in your comment:
Agency name: Office of Personnel Management,
Docket ID: OPM-2025-0004

www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

7/ This excellent piece by @donmoyn.bsky.social & @pamherd.bsky.social explains why this matters!

www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....

6/ So, NIH & NSF program officers will become political appointees, tasked w/ ONLY supporting science that's "aligned with Presidential directives”.
E.g., proposals on child mental health interventions will be evaluated not by PhD psychologist, but by anyone who curries favor w/ the party in power

5/ This reduced accountability & poorer performance will make it impossible for the federal workforce to be responsive to the needs and rights of everyday Americans.

4/ Staffing the federal government with political appointees--novices who lack the deep institutional knowledge of career civil servants--will lead to POORER PERFORMANCE. That means reduced efficiency, poorer quality services, & errors that waste money & can cost American lives.

3/ The rule actually does the OPPOSITE of what it claims to do!
By dramatically decreasing the # of civil servants & increasing the # of political appointees, FEWER FEDERAL WORKERS WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, but more federal workers will be held accountable politicians.

Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule to increase career employee accountability. Agency supervisors report great difficulty removing employees for poor performance or misconduc...

2/ Here's the proposed OPM rule change:

www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

If this new OPM rule is finalized, the qualified, apolitical civil servants who refuse to turn science into propaganda will be fired.

Comments close on Friday 5/23!

Make your voice heard and #SAVENSF !

🧵

Publicly-funded science is in our national interest!
These cuts sabotage our economic growth and undermine our potential for technological and educational innovation.