Agencies brace for more layoffs

Following the initial round of layoffs at science agencies last week, cuts may soon extend to additional agencies and be deepened at agencies affected in the first round. The layoffs could include up to 500 probationary employees at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, according to Axios and Bloomberg. The National Institutes of Health has also been told to prepare to cut staffing back to 2019 levels, according to Science, representing a 10% reduction from 2024 levels and coming on the heels of the initial layoffs last week. In addition, the Defense Department said it expects to lay off about 5,400 probationary workers starting this week and eventually reduce its civilian workforce by 5 to 8%. In some cases, feared mass layoffs have not yet materialized, with NASA receiving a last-minute reprieve. Some congressional Republicans are reportedly raising concerns in private about the scale of the layoffs. Meanwhile, Democrats on the House Science Committee have launched a survey form to collect information from recently laid-off federal employees.

Adding to the turmoil, the Office of Personnel Management emailed federal employees over the weekend requesting “5 bullets of what you accomplished last week” by the end of the day Monday, with Elon Musk adding on X that “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” The result has been widespread confusion over if and how to respond. NSF and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sent subsequent emails to employees telling them not to respond, while leaders in one NASA directorate told employees to reply but later reversed the instruction, asking employees to prepare their bullets but not submit until receiving further guidance. NASA has since said it will respond “on behalf of the agency workforce.” The OPM email has already been added to a lawsuit filed by federal workers.

NSF illegally reclassified employees as probationary, lawmaker says

The National Science Foundation has come under fire for how it is handling directives from the Trump administration to slash its workforce, such as its reclassification of some employees’ statuses from permanent to probationary prior to last week’s mass layoffs of probationary employees. After the Office of Personnel Management issued a directive on Jan. 20 asserting that excepted-service employees must serve two-year probationary periods, NSF reclassified employees accordingly despite NSF contracts specifying that the probationary period was only one year, according to a letter sent to NSF last week by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA). “I demand that NSF reinstate its employees who have been terminated and rectify the unlawful reclassification of permanent employees,” wrote Beyer, whose district includes the agency’s headquarters.

An NSF spokesperson said the agency let go 170 people last Tuesday, representing about 10% of its workforce. Of the total, 86 were probationary and 84 were classified as experts, who have part-time contracts lasting one year or less and are often hired for specific subject matter expertise. Democratic leaders of the House Science Committee also criticized the layoffs last week, stating they are “extremely disappointed in NSF leadership.” They also called on NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan to reverse the firings. Panchanathan was picked to be director by President Donald Trump in 2020 for a term of up to six years.

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Senate to consider OSTP director nomination

The Senate Commerce Committee will meet Tuesday to consider the nomination of Michael Kratsios to be director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. During the first Trump administration, Kratsios was the chief technology officer at OSTP and later became the acting head of the Defense Department’s R&D arm. Kratsios previously worked for venture capitalist Peter Thiel and was part of Trump’s transition team. In addition to the OSTP role, Trump picked Kratsios to serve as assistant to the president for science and technology, a position that does not require Senate approval.

Judge extends order blocking NIH indirect cost cuts

A temporary restraining order preventing NIH from imposing its 15% cap on indirect cost payments was extended last week by a federal court in Massachusetts. Judge Angel Kelley maintained the pause pending a final decision on whether to issue an injunction on the proposed change. Education organizations, research universities, and 22 states sued NIH earlier this month after the agency announced it would drastically cut the indirect cost payments it makes to institutions, also known as facilities and administrative (F&A) costs. The Trump administration also attempted to cut indirect cost payments back in 2017 but was blocked by Congress.

US science leaders pitching policy ideas to Trump administration

The Vision for American Science and Technology (VAST) task force will publish a report this week that proposes actions to ensure the American science and technology enterprise “remains the vanguard on an increasingly competitive world stage.” VAST task force chair and AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh will discuss the report at an Axios event Tuesday morning focused on U.S. efforts to maintain science and technology leadership. Also speaking at the event are House Science Committee Chair Brian Babin (R-TX), Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and Yacine Jernite, head of machine learning and society at Hugging Face, an AI company. The VAST task force is also holding a Capitol Hill reception Tuesday evening to mark the report release.

Also on our radar

• The House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, which fund research and technology commercialization at small businesses. This program was last extended in 2022 and is set to expire in September 2025.
• The House Science Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on NASA’s Artemis program to return humans to the Moon as well as plans to explore Mars.
• The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing Thursday to consider the nomination of Jeffrey Kessler to lead the Bureau of Industry and Security, which is responsible for implementing export controls.
• President Trump terminated five federal advisory committees last week and ordered White House staff to recommend additional committees to terminate. In his first term, Trump directed federal agencies to eliminate “at least one-third” of external advisory committees but ultimately did not reach that target.
• A National Academies committee studying the potential to expand commercial uses of electron-beam technologies will hold its first meeting Thursday.

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All events are Eastern Time unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement. Events beyond this week are listed on our website.

Monday, February 24

Texas A&M University: Annual Academic Security and Counter Exploitation seminar (continues Thursday)

American Enterprise Institute: Dignity and dynamism: The future of conservative technology policy
11:10 am - 2:00 pm

Hudson Institute: Nonproliferation in great power competition
11:30 am - 12:15 pm

CSET: How the US government hires, uses, and pays for AI tools and talent
3:00 - 4:00 pm

CSIS: NASA’s Moon to Mars roadmap: Charting the next year
4:00 - 5:00 pm

House: Meeting to advance the FY25 budget resolution
4:00 pm, Rules Committee

Baker Institute: Innovation and future of US research universities: A dialogue between presidents
5:30 - 7:00 pm CT

Tuesday, February 25

NSPN: Science policy career exploration week (continues through Friday)

National Academies: Bolstering national science and technology competitiveness through effective science communication (continues Wednesday)

Fusion Industry Association: Annual policy conference (continues Wednesday)

Axios: Keeping the scientific edge, with Reps. Brian Babin (R-TX) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
7:30 - 9:00 am

Brookings Institution: How will Congress approach US-China relations? A conversation with Reps. John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL)
9:00 - 10:00 am

House: Deputy secretary of defense nomination hearing
9:30 am, Armed Services Committee

Senate: OMB deputy director nomination hearing
9:30 am, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Senate: OSTP director nomination hearing
10:00 am, Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee

House: Emerging global threats: Putting America’s national security first
10:00 am, Oversight and Government Reform Committee

House: Full blast: Contrasting momentum in the space mining economy to the terrestrial mining regulatory morass
10:15 am, Natural Resources Committee

National Academies: Imaging life across scales
12:00 - 1:00 pm

House: GAO’s 2025 high risk list
1:00 pm, Oversight and Government Reform Committee

CSIS: Nuclear energy and American leadership: A blueprint for the future
4:00 - 4:45 pm

Hoover Institute: The Stanford Emerging Technology Review 2025: Frontier tech for a new geopolitical era
5:00 pm

VAST: Vision for American Science and Technology launch reception on Capitol Hill
5:30 - 7:00 pm

Wednesday, February 26

House: Leading the charge: Opportunities to strengthen America’s energy reliability
9:30 am, Oversight and Government Reform Committee

House: Step by step: The Artemis program and NASA’s path to human exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond
10:00 am, Science Committee

House: Fostering American innovation: Insights into SBIR and STTR programs
10:00 am, Small Business Committee

Senate: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act implementation and case studies
10:00 am, Environment and Public Works Committee

House: Unleashing America’s workforce and strengthening our economy
10:15 am, Education and Workforce Committee

House: Examining the Biden administration’s energy and environment spending push
10:30 am, Energy and Commerce Committee

National Academies: Climate conversations: Urban fires
1:00 - 2:15 pm

EESI: Clean manufacturing in America, congressional briefing
2:30 - 4:00 pm

Thursday, February 27

National Academies: Creating a safety culture in undergraduate education
8:00 am - 5:30 pm

Senate: Secretary of the Navy nomination hearing
9:30 am, Armed Services Committee

Senate: Under secretary of commerce for industry and security nomination hearing
10:00 am, Banking Committee

National Academies: Assessing opportunities and challenges for expanded use of US-based electron-beam technologies, meeting one
11:00 am - 2:00 pm

NSF: National Science Board Committee on Science and Engineering Policy teleconference
1:00 - 1:45 pm

CSIS: Critical minerals and the future of the US economy, book launch
2:00 - 5:00 pm

Friday, February 28

CSIS: The US cannot take semiconductor design leadership for granted, report launch
10:00 - 11:30 am

National Academies: Evaluation of ARPA-E’s mission and goals: Information gathering session one
11:00 am - 12:00 pm

National Academies: Assessment of the SBIR and STTR programs at DOE, meeting five
2:00 - 4:00 pm

Sunday, March 2

AUTM: 2025 annual meeting (continues through Wednesday)

Monday, March 3

NDIA: Pacific Operational Science and Technology conference (continues through Friday)

National Academies: Enabling DOE regional energy-water demonstrations: Public information-gathering, meeting two (continues Tuesday)

ITIF: Tech policy 202: Spring 2025 educational seminar series for congressional and federal staff (every Monday through March 31)

National Academies: Methods, approaches, and datasets for extreme event attribution
11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

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Deadlines indicated in parentheses. Newly added opportunities are marked with a diamond.

Note: The White House implemented a federal hiring freeze on Jan. 20.

Job Openings

◆Apple: Carbon removal lead (ongoing)
◆Visa: Climate strategy and reporting manager (ongoing)
◆Association of American Universities: Social media manager (ongoing)
AIP: Associate director of public policy research and analysis (ongoing)
American Enterprise Institute: Research assistant, science policy (ongoing)
RAND: Senior researcher, energy finance and policy (ongoing)
Battelle: Senior AI policy analyst (ongoing)
National Academies: Associate general counsel (ongoing)
AGU: Executive director/CEO (ongoing)
STAT: Washington correspondent (ongoing)
◆Chemical & Engineering News: Editorial fellowship (Feb. 28)
PNNL: Deputy director for science and technology (Feb. 28)
The Economist: Science and technology internship (Feb. 28)
◆National Academies: Space policy internship (March 3)
Congressional Research Service: Deputy assistant director, Resources, Science, and Industry Division (March 3)
◆The Royal Society: Director of science policy (March 17)

Solicitations

NRC: RFC on regulatory framework for advanced reactors (Feb. 28)
National Academies: Chemical Sciences Roundtable call for members (March 2)
DOE: RFC on update of DOE technology investment agreement regulations (March 4)
NSF: RFC on revisions to NSF infrastructure guide (March 10)
OSTP: RFI on the development of an AI action plan (March 15)
BIS: RFC on controls on lab equipment and technology to address dual use concerns about biotechnology (March 17)
DOE: RFC on draft energy storage strategy and roadmap (March 20)
DOE: RFI on autonomous experimentation platforms from Material Genome Initiative (March 21)

Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

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News and views currently in circulation. Links do not imply endorsement.

White House

White House: America First investment policy
White House: President Trump encourages foreign investment while protecting national security
Politico: A list of the Project 2025 ideas in Trump’s executive orders (so far)
Nature: Trump’s siege of science: How the first 30 days unfolded and what’s next
Physics World: US science faces unprecedented difficulties under the Trump administration
Undark Magazine: Trump’s executive orders seek to erase scientific truth (perspective by Shoumita Dasgupta)

Congress

E&E News: Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME): Spending negotiations ‘not going well’
E&E News: Earmarks another victim of Trump spending freeze
House CCP Committee: Republicans call for Eastern Michigan, Oakland University, and Detroit Mercy to end joint institutes with Chinese universities
Congressional Research Service: Technology regulation: CRS legal products for the 119th Congress (report)
MIT Technology Review: Congress used to evaluate emerging technologies. Let’s do it again
E&E News: Republicans question giving Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) broad subpoena power

Science, Society, and the Economy

Science: ‘I really wanted something to happen.’ The students behind the Stand Up for Science protests
New York Times: American science is under attack (perspective by Harold Varmus)
Physics World: How should scientists deal with politicians who don’t respect science? (perspective by Robert Crease)
Chemical & Engineering News: There’s a lot going on in US science. Help us cover it (editorial)
Planetary Society: How The Planetary Society’s grassroots movement shapes the future of space
Nature: Why these scientists devote time to editing and updating Wikipedia
ChinaTalk: Innovation emergency with Trump 1.0’s patent director (audio)

Education and Workforce

New York Times: As Trump targets research, scientists share grief and resolve to fight
Scientific American: NSF mass firings go beyond Trump’s orders, sparking outrage
Science: US early-career researchers struggling amid chaos
AMS: AMS offers direct support to the weather, water, and climate community
AGU: Standing together for science: How to support the federal scientific workforce
Stat: Graduate student admissions paused and cut back as universities react to Trump orders on research
Science: Judge recommends lifting Florida’s ban on hiring students from China
Los Angeles Times: Why Chinese students still want to attend US universities
Scientific American: Immigration fuels innovation in science to make the US more competitive (editorial)
CRS: The H-1B visa for specialty occupation workers (report)
Research Policy: More jobs for our foes? Global R&D strategy in the age of techno-nationalism (paper by Hyungseok David Yoon, et al.)
University World News: Max Planck Society offers a haven for top US researchers

Research Management

The Transmitter: Federal Register hold makes ‘end run’ around court pause on NIH funding freeze
Politico: DOGE, Education Department threaten states’ funding if they don’t cut DEI programs
Inside Higher Ed: Education Department cancels another $350 million in contracts, grants
Inside Higher Ed: What are college presidents saying about Trump? Not much
Stat: National Academies is altering pending reports to appease Trump administration, some members say
Undark Magazine: In war against DEI in science, researchers see collateral damage
New York Times: Accessibility is taking a hit across the sciences
Science: ‘Patent mills’ sell scientists inventorship of bizarre medical devices
Nature: Why retractions data could be a powerful tool for cleaning up science
Chemical & Engineering News: New federal report outlines strategic goals to advance sustainable chemistry

Labs and Facilities

American Nuclear Society: Neutron vision at Los Alamos: Exploring the frontiers of nuclear materials science (perspective by Alexander Long and Sven Vogel)
Idaho National Lab: How high-flux thermal irradiation testing became a foundation for US nuclear leadership
Jefferson Lab: Jefferson Lab welcomes new environment, safety and health director
NREL: Andrea Watson named associate director for innovation, partnering, and outreach at NREL
Lawrence Livermore National Lab: Lawrence Livermore raises more than $82K for Southern California fire relief efforts
Physics World: Incoming CERN director-general Mark Thomson outlines his future priorities (interview)

Computing and Communications

Science: High-performance computing at a crossroads (perspective by Ewa Deelman, et al.)
Congressional Research Service: Artificial intelligence: CRS products (report)
Lawfare: Unpacking the final report of the bipartisan House task force on AI
Nature: Will AI jeopardize science photography? There’s still time to create an ethical code of conduct
Scholarly Kitchen: Copyright’s big win in the first decided US AI case
Lawfare: Beyond DeepSeek: How China’s AI ecosystem fuels breakthroughs
Breaking Defense: DARPA plans ‘major expansion’ of quantum computing push next month
The Wire China: The quantum panic

Space

Wall Street Journal: The thrill-seeking billionaire and SpaceX astronaut poised to run NASA
SpacePolicyOnline: NASA’s Jim Free retires as the agency escapes dramatic workforce cuts for now
SpaceNews: Musk calls for deorbiting ISS ‘as soon as possible’
SpaceNews: US and India to expand collaboration in space innovation
NPR: Is Trump preparing to cancel America’s ride back to the moon?
Financial Times: Europe’s Moon plans at risk as Trump team reviews NASA’s Artemis project
Space Review: Czars versus councils: Organizing space in the new administration

Weather, Climate, and Environment

E&E News: Trump taps weather company lobbyist for top NOAA role
National Academies: Forecasting the ocean: The 2025-2035 decade of ocean science (report)
AP: Biden’s EPA issued $20 billion in green grants. Now Trump’s administration wants that money back
Nature: ‘Targeted and belittled’: Scientists at EPA speak out as layoffs begin
E&E News: How Trump gutted climate policy in 30 days
NPR: In Colorado, climate-related projects are feeling the freeze on federal funding
E&E News: FEMA docs for addressing climate change disappear from websites
APS News: The daunting physics of carbon removal
E&E News: Researchers pull plug on project to save sea ice
USGS: First-ever US geological mapping cost-benefit study (report)
E&E News: Bipartisan bill would create wildland fire agency

Energy

Politico: Effects of Trump’s spending freeze ripple across energy projects
E&E News: Details emerge on Wright’s stock holdings, DOE firings
American Nuclear Society: US, India make new nuclear plans
Power: NRC proposes deep fee cuts for advanced nuclear
E&E News: ‘Clean’ hydrogen hubs in limbo as Trump eyes DOE overhaul
Power: Space-based solar power: The future of 24/7 clean energy generation
New York Times: Trump administration moves to fast-track hundreds of fossil fuel projects

Defense

DefenseScoop: DOD to review all consulting contracts as it looks to cut those that aren’t ‘essential’ to Trump’s priorities
NucleCast: Christopher Stone: Iron Dome for America (audio)
Scientific American: Trump’s ‘Iron Dome’ space weapons plan ignores physics and fiscal reality (perspective by Dan Vergano)
SpaceNews: GPS civil signals are vital for America’s national security (perspective by Lisa Dyer)
Ars Technica: From 900 miles away, the US government recorded audio of the Titan sub implosion
Emerging Technologies Institute: Unlocking innovation: Small companies in the classified space, part 1 (video)

Biomedical

Science: More NIH job cuts coming? Agency’s scientists already reeling after week of firings
Science: ‘Death by ax.’ Fate of millions of research animals at stake in NIH payments lawsuit
NPR: Possible cuts to NIH funding could affect research in Alabama
NPR: The USDA fired staffers working on bird flu. Now it’s trying to reverse course
Scientific American: Urgent CDC data on influenza and bird flu go missing as outbreaks escalate
Science: Ax falls on elite group of PhDs training to lead US public health labs
Stat: HHS orders CDC to halt some vaccine ads, saying RFK Jr. wants message focused on ‘informed consent’
New York Times: Firings at FDA decimated teams reviewing AI and food safety
Stat: Trump administration rehires some FDA employees it fired
Nature: What’s next for the WHO? US exit could reshape agency
NPR: Scientists to meet 50 years after conference that set limits on genetic engineering
Nature: Money and murder: The dark side of the Asilomar meeting on recombinant DNA (perspective by Matthew Cobb)

International Affairs

The Royal Society: Science diplomacy in an era of disruption (report)
University World News: Are there ‘safe’ areas of research collaboration with China?
American Affairs Journal: Technological progress in Chinese political culture: An intellectual genealogy (perspective by Kelvin Yu and Charles Yang)
ITIF: A policymaker’s guide to China’s technology security strategy (report)
Research Professional: European Academies issue guidance on commercial collaboration
Science|Business: Research faces uncertain future in EU budget shakeup
Science|Business: Kiel, Brest and Split will be the EU ambassadors for science 2026
Science|Business: Leptin calls for a doubling of the ERC budget
Science|Business: MEPs throw weight behind standalone FP10 with bigger budget
Research Professional: Trump ‘could boost number of foreign students choosing UK’
APS News: The crisis of displaced scientists — and how you can help