Are you interested in creating “sister circles” for “black women in undergraduate computing programs at predominantly white institutions, framing the research through black feminist epistemologies and structural oppression rather than technical computing advancement?” Then the National Science Foundation has a $1.5 million grant for you! Or it did, until April, when President Donald Trump sacked all 22 members of its board.

The National Science Foundation, guided by the presidentially appointed National Science Board, exists to “promote the progress of science, advance the national health, prosperity and welfare, and secure the national defense.” The independent federal agency does this “chiefly by making grants” of taxpayer money to universities and research institutions.