Democratic Members Slam NSF for Covert Blacklisting of Universities

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Science Committee Democratic Members sent a letter(link is external) to National Science Foundation Acting Director Brian Stone demanding answers on NSF secretly blocking research grants to top universities. On May 27, 2026, it was reported(link is external) in Nature that NSF had been blocking awards to Duke University, Harvard University, Princeton University, and Yale University since April 9, 2026. The Science Committee learned of this politicization of the grant awarding process from media reports seven weeks after NSF implemented this policy - a true testament to the lack of transparency from the Trump administration.

"The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology has had a long history of working closely with NSF toward shared goals - under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Clearly the cooperative, transparent relationship this Committee has enjoyed with the agency has expired," the Members wrote in their letter(link is external).

The Members continued, "NSF silently blocking awards for meritorious proposals coming from certain institutions shows that the agency is no longer aligned with NSF's founding principle that meritorious research, identified by expert review panels and expert NSF program officers, should be funded without political interference."

In the letter, Members requested answers to the following questions by June 9, 2026:

• Why and when was the "Future Awards to Organization on Hold" designation applied to Duke, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton?
• Why and when was the "Future Awards to Organization on Hold" designation lifted from Duke, Harvard, and Yale?
• Since January 21, 2025, have any additional institutions been tagged with the "Future Awards to Organization on Hold" designation, or have there been alternative mechanisms put in place to flag organizations in order to stall funding? If so, please share the institutions, the time period during which this designation applied, and the reasoning for applying and then lifting this designation.

Read the letter(link is external) here.

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