Washington DC - President Donald Trump's administration sent out a series of messages dismissing the entire National Science Board from their position's "effective immediately."
"On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I'm writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately," read a series of messages dismissing all 24 members of the NSB on Friday.
The institution was established in 1950 to govern the National Science Foundation, which operates a number of Antarctic research stations, research vessels, laboratories, and telescopes across the US.
The board adopted a corporate-style structure in its governance of the NSF, assisting as an independent board that helped distribute nearly $9 billion in science funding every year.
"The termination email was brief and to the point, with a 'thank you for your service,'" Roger Beachy, a biology professor at Washington University, told Al Jazeera on Monday.
"The nature of the board – partisan or independent? – and how it interacts with the agency is of critical importance to the continuing success of the NSF," he said.
The firings are part of a broader move by the Trump administration to gut key scientific and medical agencies within the federal government, as well as the US Agency for International Development.
It is still unclear whether the fired members will be replaced by MAGA-loyalists, which is what happened to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Prominent Democrats have been quick to condemn the gutting of NSB, including New Jersey Senator Corey Booker, who railed against the move in a post to X on Sunday.
"Firing all 24 members of the National Science Board undermines our nation, the objectivity of science, the independence of researchers, and the strength that has fueled so much American strength," Booker said.