In a bold move, the Trump administration has fired all 22 members of the National Science Board, the independent group responsible for overseeing the National Science Foundation. This sudden purge, executed without prior warning or explanation, has drawn significant backlash from the scientific community, with critics labeling it a detrimental ‘wholesale evisceration of American leadership in science’. The mass termination raises concerns about the future of science funding and advisory roles in the U.S., with experts fearing it signals a larger trend of diminishing support for scientific endeavors.