A prominent scientific journal, Nature, published an article on the 20th stating that during Trump’s first year in office, he terminated 8,000 research projects, caused 25,000 personnel to leave, and proposed a 30% budget cut, resulting in a historic blow to climate and biomedical research, severely undermining the foundation of American scientific research and international competitiveness.
(Background summary: Trump announced tariffs of 10% on Denmark and eight other European countries in February, vowing to “take Greenland,” prompting the EU to form a coalition to counter)
(Additional background: Why is Trump so determined to take Greenland? What secrets does this 80% ice-covered island hold?)

Table of Contents

• Core Data Overview
• 1. Canceled Research Funding
• 2. Shrinking International Talent and Scientific Teams
• 3. The “Hollowing Out” of Federal Agencies
• 4. Budget Battles: White House vs. Congress

Since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, his administration has carried out large-scale reductions and reorganizations of the U.S. scientific system. By halting research funding, reducing personnel, and restricting research fields, the U.S. federal scientific enterprise is experiencing intense upheaval; for more details, see the Nature report.

Core Data Overview

• Funding Terminations or Freezes: Over 7,800 research grants.
• Personnel Loss: Federal scientific agencies have reduced about 25,000 employees.
• Budget Proposals: Proposed a 35% (approximately 32 billion USD) cut to non-defense research budgets.

1. Canceled Research Funding

The government has taken unprecedented actions to directly terminate already allocated projects.

• Agency Impact: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) canceled 5,844 projects; the National Science Foundation (NSF) canceled 1,996.
• Targeted Fields: Focused on “non-preferred” topics such as misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, infectious diseases, and projects involving disadvantaged groups or gender studies (which the government deems unscientific and discriminatory).
• Geographical Distribution: New York State was hardest hit (nearly 1,500 projects canceled), mainly concentrated at Columbia University.
• Current Status: Although courts ordered the restoration of thousands of projects, about 2,600 projects remain suspended, involving 1.4 billion USD in unspent funds.

Budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

2. Shrinking International Talent and Scientific Teams

• International Student Decline: In the 2025–26 academic year, the number of new international students at U.S. universities dropped by 17%, the lowest in a decade outside of the 2020 pandemic period.
• Visa Issues: Among schools experiencing declines, 96% attributed the cause to difficulties in visa applications.
• New Grants Decrease: In 2025, NSF and NIH issued 25% and 24% fewer new grants, respectively.

Number of International Freshmen Enrolling at U.S. Universities

3. The “Hollowing Out” of Federal Agencies

Federal scientific agencies lost about 20% of their staff in 2025.

• Most Affected: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NASA (affected by climate science suppression), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), all with over 20% staff loss.
• Reasons for Departure: Besides layoffs at the beginning of the year, most employees left through government-sponsored “voluntary separation programs.” This has led to overburdened remaining staff and severely impacted the efficiency of research application reviews.

4. Budget Battles: White House vs. Congress

In the FY2026 budget proposal, the Trump administration requested a historic 35% cut to non-defense R&D budgets, aiming to revert funding levels to those of 1991.