National Science Foundation freezes grant review in response to Trump executive orders

The National Science Foundation canceled all of its grant review panels this week, as the organization works to align its grantmaking process with new executive orders from the Trump administration.

The NSF funds a wide range of scientific research through grants to universities and research institutions. It convenes panels of experts to weigh the merits of those proposals, ultimately informing which receive federal funding. It has a budget of around $9 billion.

More than 60 of those meetings were scheduled for this week, all of which were abruptly canceled Monday morning. The move sparked confusion among panelists as to the extent of the pause. In a statement to NPR, an NSF spokesperson said that all review panels will be rescheduled. "This will allow the agency to make the best use of everyone's time and resources as we continue to develop guidance to ensure compliance with the recent executive orders."