Trump's science cuts are great news — for other countries
Since the start of his second term on Jan. 20, Trump has set in motion the most sweeping cuts to scientific research in modern U.S. history, including public grants for research into Alzheimer's, cancer and other major diseases.
In addition to cutting research funds for leading U.S. universities, such as Harvard and Princeton, Trump's 2026 budget has led to the planned layoffs of thousands of scientists at some of the world's leading scientific institutions.
Many U.S. scientists are now moving to Canada and Europe, where leaders in France and other countries have already opened their doors —and their budgets— to America's scientific refugees.
A White House document proposing the 2026 budget calls for a 57% reduction for the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), which supports basic research in science and engineering, from $9 billion to $3.9 billion. It also calls for a 40% cut in the funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's biggest public funder of biomedical research, from $47 billion to $27 billion.
To put these figures in perspective, Trump's 'Big, beautiful bill,' which was close to being passed by Congress at the time of this writing, included $45 billion in new funds to build detention facilities — critics call them 'concentration camps' — for undocumented immigrants. As I have shown in previous columns, most current immigration detainees are not violent criminals, but hard-working people seeking a better life.
Already, the NIH has canceled more than 2,400 research projects, the respected journal Nature reported on June 27. Trump's budget cuts to U.S. science are 'unprecedented,' and could have 'catastrophic effects,' Nature said in an earlier report on May. 15.
The Trump administration says the NIH, NSF, NASA and other government-funded scientific institutions were rife with waste and politically-motivated 'woke' programs, and needed to be made more efficient. Many grants were awarded under non-scientific diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) requirements that the Trump administration has now terminated, administration officials say.
But most scientists say that, while there's probably some degree of waste in any large organization, Trump's budget cuts are a catastrophic overreaction. The administration is killing research programs that could save millions of lives in America and around the world, as well as crippling U.S. innovation in cutting-edge industries.
Rep. Bill Foster, D-Illinois, the only member of Congress with a PhD in physics, told me in an interview that 'Trump is wrecking American science.' He added, 'I understand why you would have to cut things, including science. But this is done in a very sloppy and, frankly, stupid way.'
Trump's budget cutters have simply looked for science programs that had the terms 'diversity,' or 'inclusion' somewhere in their paperwork, regardless of their merit, critics say. In many cases, such words were just included pro forma in top-quality scientific research programs.
Foster told me he already knows of cases in which professors working on five-year research programs have just learned that their last year of funding is being cut off. They have had to lay off their research teams, leading many scientists to seek jobs abroad.
'Right now, America is bleeding scientific talent,' Foster told me. While much of the U.S. scientific leadership was built thanks to European scientists who moved to America in World War II, such as Nobel laureate Albert Einstein, the reverse trend is taking place now, he added.
Indeed, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently announced a $566 million plan at Sorbonne University to lure U.S. science refugees. The program is officially called 'Choose Europe for Science.'
In an obvious reference to the United States, Macron said at the announcement ceremony that 'Nobody could imagine a few years ago that one of the great democracies of the world would eliminate research programs on the pretext that the word 'diversity' appeared in its program,' according to a New York Times report.
When I asked Foster why he thinks Trump is crippling America's scientific programs, he said, 'I think he's trying to achieve popularity with his base, which comes largely from rural areas.' He added that people living in rural areas may not be fully aware of the benefits of science, and are more likely to blame intellectuals and scientists for the country's problems.
Maybe so. But whatever the reason, crippling U.S. science will have dire consequences. America will pay not just in lost discoveries, but in lost lives, lost leadership and a diminished future for generations to come.
Don't miss the 'Oppenheimer Presenta' TV show on Sundays at 9 pm E.T. on CNN en Español. Blog: andresoppenheimer.com
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33 minutes ago
Supreme Court's expansive view of presidential power is 'solidly' pro-Trump: ANALYSIS
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USA Today
36 minutes ago
- USA Today
As a veteran, I used to be proud to be an American. I'm not sure anymore.
What does being an American mean at this moment in our story, and where do you think our country goes from here? Here's what readers told us. Are you proud to be an American? Many Americans aren't. Or at least, that's what a new poll from Gallup found. The survey, released June 30 before the Independence Day holiday, found 58% adults in the United States consider themselves "extremely" (41%) or "very" (17%) proud to be an American. That's a record low. Patriotism had a particularly steep decline among Democrats, with only 36% saying they are "extremely" or "very proud" – down from 62% a year ago. A similar drop has been reported among younger Americans, Generation Z and millennials. Less than half of Gen Z adults, 41%, describe themselves as "extremely" or "very proud" to be Americans, compared with 58% of millennials. That's a sentiment members of our USA TODAY Opinion staff share – though a number of our colleagues feel the opposite, and have said as much. But we wanted to know what you think. What does patriotism look and feel like to you in 2025? What does being an American mean at this moment in our story, and where do you think our country goes from here? We heard from readers all across the country and political spectrum for this installment of the Opinion Forum. Read a collection of their responses below. I'm a veteran. I'm not sure what being American means anymore. For me, patriotism meant serving as a Navy officer for over a decade. I used to be proud to be an American. After traveling to Europe since this administration started, it has become embarrassing. The Europeans I met now hate Americans for reelecting Donald Trump. After I explained that he didn't get my vote, they liked me much more. This president is destroying our democracy. Being an American used to mean pride in how this country works together to benefit all citizens and protect freedom, personal and otherwise. 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I may not like where our country is headed in this short span of time, but I know that in the end our country will slingshot back, not because of its elected officials, but because of its people. WE THE PEOPLE. If I meet someone from Canada, Greenland, Ukraine, Europe or frankly anywhere else in the world, I feel I must apologize and let them know that not all Americans believe in what is happening in our politics. The constitutional rights of all American citizens are slowly being taken away under this administration. It is imperative that we realize what is happening. When you are afraid to go to the Capitol or on campus to protest U.S. actions, when you feel you have to take bumper stickers off your car, when you can no longer wear rainbow clothing, when people are being rounded up off the streets because of their skin color or looks or religion, this is no longer the America I know and love. WE THE PEOPLE must not let our constitutional rights be eliminated or subdued. 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USA Today
36 minutes ago
- USA Today
To new and struggling teachers: Don't give up. America's kids need you.
If I could talk to my younger self, I'd tell him about the thousands of students who were going to need him by the time they reached high school ‒ and why I'm glad I stayed. I began teaching in the midst of crisis ‒ a crack epidemic, gang violence, racial strife and police conduct that led to civil unrest. Now, at the close of my 34th year in the classroom, I find that my students, my colleagues and me in crisis again ‒ kids and their families in fear for their freedom as a president, unrestrained by Congress or the Supreme Court, wages war on immigration, much of it on the streets of our Los Angeles, against the Latino community. Those who don't get abducted on the streets by masked immigration agents still face an uncertain future with the recent Supreme Court decision not to reject President Donald Trump's executive order revoking automatic birthright citizenship for all. Trump's order is not retroactive ‒ not for now ‒ but the cruelties we have seen on our streets make it difficult to believe that anything is off the table. I keep asking myself ‒ as do so many educators and other Americans ‒ how things got to this point? A dysfunctional nation, a dysfunctional education system It is a complicated question with complicated answers, but for much of my teaching career, I have worried about the way our schools treat kids: Demanding compliance over excellence. I am afraid that we have raised too many Americans willing to vote for and bend to authoritarian-leaning leaders. And now here we are, with a president virulently expanding his power, coercing and silencing opposition, and militarizing the streets of our city. Much other dysfunction also persists in our education system, and it hurts our kids as much as ever. Politics, profiteering, narrow mindedness and laziness are a big part of the collective incompetence that many of us struggle against every day in classrooms across this country. We ought to keep demanding ‒ or pleading for ‒ systemic change and a greater investment of money and imagination in our schools, even at a time when the federal government seems intent on dismantling public education. For years now, I have been critiquing and complaining, here at USA TODAY and elsewhere, about the systemic rot in our public schools. Whatever the small impact of my words, I know that I've accomplished far more through the work of teaching and through the help I've been able to give new and struggling teachers. Opinion: LA isn't burning. ICE has terrorized many into an ominous silence. For the sake of the next generation of kids, we cannot wait for systemic change. For the sake of those kids, we have to find ways to be the effective and inspiring teachers our kids need and deserve. We have to keep pushing for change in the governance and priorities of our schools; change in the way that teachers are prepared, supported and compensated; and, in the meantime, rise as much as possible above everything that undermines us, that makes our job sometimes seem impossible, and that discourages so many young, idealistic, passionate educators. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. To frustrated new teachers, I was once like you Many new teachers don't last five years, and in many places it is not uncommon for demoralized new teachers to quit midsemester or even midday. I don't blame those frustrated young educators. I almost didn't make it past my first semester, and now I try to encourage as many struggling teachers as I can to believe in their students and themselves. Opinion: As a teacher, Supreme Court siding with parents' religious freedom concerns me Because when you see countless students grow up and some overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. When you hear their words of appreciation for your part in it. When you find yourself teaching multiple branches and generations of once distressed and now flourishing families. When you see students transform from selfishness or misery or self-destructiveness to become productive adults doing their small part to improve their community and the world and help others do the same ‒ then you know it was worth it. The problem is that too many educators are defeated before they can even imagine such successes, and we don't do enough to affirm the small successes that they themselves might not even recognize. If some tech innovator could create a time machine so I could go talk to my younger self as a discouraged new teacher, I would tell that frazzled young educator about the thousands of children who were going to need him by the time they reached high school ‒ and how glad I've been to be there for them, how sad that it won't last forever, and how much I hope to pass on what the students have taught me over the years. An army of dedicated, patient and talented educators may be the only hope for this new generation. In that regard, there is no greater gift to the world than making the sacrifices, braving the indignities, and enduring the uncertainties and failures to become a really good teacher. Which is why I've written "A Lasting Impact in the Classroom and Beyond: Wisdom and Advice for Brave Teachers." I did so on behalf of our kids, now and in the future, and for those courageous souls who want to help them all to find their brilliance, their voices, their idealism and their place in this crazy world. Perhaps they can help to steer us away from the dystopian nightmare we seem to be careening toward. Larry Strauss, a high school English teacher in South Los Angeles since 1992, is also the author of 'Students First and Other Lies: Straight Talk From a Veteran Teacher.' You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
