Timeline & Key Events

“Colorado’s research institutes and laboratories are central to the fabric of our state and our nation, and I’m deeply grateful to the colleagues who joined me in pushing back against the Trump administration’s attacks on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. While I’m proud that we succeeded in ensuring the CJS funding bill rolled back dangerous cuts to NOAA — preventing irreversible harm to critical programs — I could not, in good faith, support legislation that fails to safeguard the extraordinary work being done at NCAR. Dismantling this institution would be reckless, dangerous and place the United States at a serious competitive disadvantage. I urge the Trump administration to heed our bipartisan call for a halt to their attacks on this vital institution — and I’ll continue to work with Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper and the bipartisan coalition we’ve built to protect NCAR.”
- Congressman Neguse

In a bipartisan and bicameral letter dated December 22, 2025, over 70 members of Congress urged the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to provide sustained funding for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the FY 2026 budget. The lawmakers define NCAR as a vital national security and economic asset, highlighting its role in wildfire behavior analysis, agricultural planning, and the prediction of solar storms that threaten GPS and banking satellites. By emphasizing the essential nature of the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputer Center and the facility's "open modeling" frameworks that reduce research duplication, the letter frames NCAR not just as a scientific center, but as a high-value federal investment that protects American lives and infrastructure from extreme weather and atmospheric disruptions.

“President Trump is attacking Colorado because we refuse to bend to his corrupt administration. His reckless decision to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research will have lasting, devastating impacts across the country. We are holding the Senate’s appropriations package to demand full funding for NCAR. As Trump’s rampage continues, we will pull every lever available to do what is right for Colorado.”
- Senators Hickenlooper and Bennet

The NSF is moving its headquarters from 2415 Eisenhower Ave to the Randolph Building at 401 Dulany Street, both located in Alexandria, VA.

In a joint letter to Congressional leadership, a broad coalition of over 50 professional scientific societies and research organizations—including the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society, and the Association of American Universities—expresses deep alarm over the "imminent threats" facing the National Science Foundation (NSF). While acknowledging the agency's 75-year legacy of driving innovation and supporting 268 Nobel laureates, the signatories warn that recent "abrupt" developments—specifically mass layoffs, the cancellation of curiosity-driven research programs, the termination of active grants, and the unilateral slashing of indirect cost rates—risk causing irreversible damage to the U.S. scientific enterprise. The coalition urges the Senate and House committees to exercise their oversight authority to investigate whether these actions, taken in anticipation of budget cuts rather than following Congressional appropriations, violate statutory directives and undermine the merit-review framework that has secured decades of American technological and economic leadership.

In this letter dated May 20, 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey confront OSTP Director Michael Kratsios regarding the "disarray" and "upheaval" at the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Trump Administration. The Senators highlight a series of catastrophic disruptions—including the termination of over 1,400 grants, an unprecedented secondary review of previously approved awards, an indefinite funding freeze, and a restrictive 15% cap on indirect costs—that they argue defy court orders and jeopardize U.S. scientific leadership. They emphasize that these actions have already caused tangible harm in Massachusetts, forcing research institutions to slash incoming class sizes and scramble for alternative student support. Following the resignation of NSF Director Panchanathan and reports of a looming 55% budget cut and a radical restructuring that would abolish the agency’s 37 divisions, the Senators demand that Kratsios explain how he will safeguard the scientific enterprise from political interference and "DOGE"-led downsizing, requesting detailed answers on the criteria being used to align federal research with the Administration's ideological executive orders.

In this letter dated May 8, 2025, House Science Committee Democrats condemn a "disastrous week" for the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Acting Director Brian Stone, marked by the termination of over 1,400 grants totaling more than $1 billion and an indefinite freeze on all funding actions. The authors characterize these actions as a "draconian" and "politically motivated" betrayal of the agency’s gold-standard merit review process, specifically citing the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) public celebration of canceling hundreds of "wasteful DEI grants" that had previously passed rigorous scientific evaluation. The letter highlights several abruptly canceled projects—including rural STEM education, deepfake detection, and quantum workforce development—and argues that these terminations likely violate the Impoundment Control Act and a standing court injunction against impeding appropriated funds. Furthermore, the committee leaders demand transparency regarding a new 15% cap on indirect costs and the extent of DOGE’s decision-making power within the agency, warning that these "destructive decisions" cause irreparable injury to the American scientific enterprise and the next generation of researchers.

In this letter dated April 17, 2025, Representative Zoe Lofgren, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, urges NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan to defend the agency’s merit review process against a report by Senator Ted Cruz that labeled over 10% of NSF grants as "questionable" due to alleged DEI or neo-Marxist content. Lofgren asserts that the Cruz Report is demonstrably false and based on unscientific keyword searches that flagged benign research—such as studies on concussion "trauma" or "female" leopard seals—simply for including words on a politicized list. Expressing alarm over reports that the NSF is currently using these same terms to conduct post-hoc reviews of active grants in response to Trump Administration executive orders, Lofgren demands transparency regarding the review methodology and the potential consequences for flagged researchers. She concludes by requesting a formal response by April 25, 2025, to ensure that scientific funding remains dictated by expert merit rather than political intimidation.

In this letter dated March 11, 2025, Ranking Members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology urge NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan to protect the agency’s core mission against "slash and burn" restructuring efforts led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The authors argue that mass federal firings have already caused administrative chaos and that further reductions in force would jeopardize American competitiveness against rivals like China, specifically in areas of research security, STEM education, and polar operations. Furthermore, the letter asserts that failing to spend Congressional appropriations as intended violates the Impoundment Control Act, and it demands that the NSF immediately provide the Committee with its reorganization plan and a briefing on its projected impacts to ensure the agency remains capable of fulfilling its statutory obligations.