2/19/25: Federal Funding Uncertainty Prompts Hiring Freezes (Inside Higher Ed) Proposed cuts to National Institutes of Health reimbursement rates have created financial headaches for universities, prompting cost-cutting measures at even the richest institutions. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2025/02/19/federal-funding-uncertainty-prompts-hiring-freezes
2/19/25: Why retractions data could be a powerful tool for cleaning up science (Nature) A Nature analysis of retractions hotspots around the world suggests institutions should pay close attention to retractions data. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00509-1
2/19/25: Federal Register hold makes ‘end run’ around court pause on NIH funding freeze (The Transmitter) U.S. National Institutes of Health-related updates to the Federal Register, which are required for the scheduling of study sections and advisory councils, are on hold indefinitely, according to an email reviewed by The Transmitter. https://www.thetransmitter.org/funding/federal-register-hold-makes-end-run-around-court-pause-on-nih-funding-freeze/
2/18/25: Congress closing in on shutdown deadline with no clear plan (The Hill) Congress is struggling to strike a deal to keep the government funded as a looming deadline to prevent a shutdown next month gets closer. Lawmakers are less than a month away from a mid-March date to pass legislation to prevent a funding lapse — or risk the first shutdown in years. https://thehill.com/business/budget/5149928-congress-struggles-government-funding-shutdown/
2/18/25: Science under siege: Trump cuts threaten to undermine decades of research (NBC News) The new administration’s blitz has provoked outcry among researchers, doctors and university leaders, many of whom are organizing for a showdown — in the courts and in public opinion — to save institutions, money and workers who have propelled research for decades. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/trumps-nih-budget-cuts-threaten-research-stirring-panic-rcna191744
2/18/25: Mass firings decimate U.S. science agencies (Science) On 13 February, a research entomologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was among the first, receiving an email after the close of business hours saying they were being “removed” from what they describe as a dream job, studying a key problem in agriculture science. The change had gone into effect 14 minutes before the email arrived. “The letter said I was being let go due to poor performance, which is nonsensical since they invited me to apply for a promotion just the other month,” the stunned researcher says. https://www.science.org/content/article/mass-firings-decimate-u-s-science-agencies
2/18/25: Trump’s Agenda to Hurt Higher Education (The Chronicle) His first month was a nightmare for the sector. Here’s what he’s planning next. https://www.chronicle.com/article/trumps-agenda-to-hurt-higher-education
2/18/25: National Science Foundation Fires 168 Workers as Federal Purge Continues (Wired) The National Science Foundation fired nearly 170 workers in a Zoom call on Tuesday morning as part of the Trump administration’s agenda to reduce the federal workforce. The terminated workers, who were told their employment would end at 5 pm EST today, included those still under probation, but also workers who had already completed the requisite one-year probationary period to become permanent workers and at-will workers who were considered permanent employees. Earlier this month, however, these permanent workers were suddenly told by NSF that their one-year probationary period should have been two years and they were no longer safe from being terminated. https://www.wired.com/story/national-science-foundation-february-2025-firings/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_12656142_nl_Daily-Briefing_date_20250219
2/17/25: Rundown on Recent Executive Orders on Federal Funding and Legal Issues (National Law Review) Since taking office on January 20th, President Trump and his administration have issued several executive orders and guidance documents relating to federal funding and financial assistance. Several of these actions directed federal agencies to pause federal funding that runs counter to the policy objectives enumerated in the President’s executive orders. On January 27th, the Office of Management and Budget issued Memorandum M-25-13, establishing a near total freeze on federal funding. https://natlawreview.com/article/rundown-recent-executive-orders-federal-funding-and-legal-issues#google_vignette
2/14/25: N.I.H. Research Grants Lag $1 Billion Behind Last Year’s (New York Times) After weeks of disruption to scientific federal grants, the National Institutes of Health has fallen behind in funding research into treatments for deadly diseases. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/health/national-institutes-of-health-research-grants.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share
2/14/25: The Erasing of American Science (The Atlantic) For decades in the United States, scientists and government officials have coexisted in a mostly peaceable and productive symbiosis. The government has funded science and then largely left well enough alone. Scientific agencies have been staffed by scientists; scientists have set scientific priorities; scientists have ensured the integrity of the science that is done, on the theory that scientists know their own complicated, technical, sometimes arcane work best. Under that system, science has flourished, turning the government’s investment into technological innovation and economic growth. Every dollar invested in research and development has been estimated to return at least $5 on average—billions annually. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/02/trump-science-data-gender-dei/681698/
