2,000 scientists urge Congress to restore National Science Board amid China race

More than 2,000 scientists urged Congress to restore the National Science Board after the Trump administration terminated the panel, warning that the move would weaken the country’s ability to compete with China and other rivals.

Their open letter frames the fight as a test of national strength, not a narrow bureaucratic dispute. The National Science Board has existed since 1950, when Congress created it under the NSF Act to guide the National Science Foundation and advise both the president and lawmakers on science and engineering policy. NSF says the board sets agency policy, approves major awards, provides congressional testimony and issues statements on the nation’s science and engineering enterprise.

What disappears with the board is more than a set of seats. The NSB is a 25-member body appointed by the president, with members serving six-year terms and one-third of the board normally replaced every two years. In a March 14, 2025 nominations letter, NSF said the six-year terms of eight members would expire on May 10, 2026, underscoring how the board is designed to rotate in a staggered way rather than vanish all at once.

The scientists warned that losing that structure could ripple through the innovation system that supports artificial intelligence, advanced computing, biotechnology and national security. Universities, federal agencies and private companies all depend on a predictable federal science framework when making long-term decisions about hiring, investment and research. The letter argues that weakening science governance now could leave the United States with less institutional capacity to turn basic research into economic and strategic advantage.

The board’s recent activity also cuts against any notion that it had become ceremonial. NSF posted board statements in 2025 and 2026, including one marking the agency’s 75th anniversary and another in January 2026 titled Extraordinary Possibility. In April 2025, Darío Gil stepped down as chair and Victor McCrary served as acting chair until new leadership was elected, showing a board still engaged in active governance before the termination.

The NSB describes itself as apolitical and says its members come from industry and universities across science and engineering disciplines and geographic regions. That is part of why scientists see the board as a stabilizing institution in a time when Washington increasingly treats science policy as part of the strategic contest with Beijing. Their message to Congress is clear: if the United States wants to keep pace with China, it cannot afford to weaken the advisory machinery that helps steer its science enterprise.