The National Science Foundation (NSF) said on Sunday that it has unfrozen grant money, ending a stoppage of payments that sparked widespread confusion and left scientists without pay for nearly a week.
The agency resumed payments to existing grants after a court issued an order to NSF and other grant-making federal agencies to "[N]ot pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate... awards and obligations," calling the freeze unlawful.
NSF officially paused payments on January 28, saying that the agency needed time to review how its grants comply with President Trump's executive orders, especially those aiming to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the government. That would essentially apply to all NSF grants, since the agency is Congressionally mandated to weigh how research proposals it funds will boost the participation of women and underrepresented groups in science, in addition to the proposal's intellectual merit.
NSF has a $9 billion annual budget and funds a range of research, from astrophysics to zoology. In a statement, it says it is still undergoing a review of their grants to see how they comply with Trump's executive orders. It's unclear what that review may mean for existing grants, but the agency said that, "NSF can not take action to delay or stop payment for active awards based solely on actual or potential non-compliance with the Executive Orders."
The freeze prevented hundreds of scientists from accessing funds awarded to pay for their salary and research, and raised worries from other grantees that payments they were expecting in the coming weeks and months may not come.
While payments have resumed, NSF is continuing its pause of grant review panels — meetings during which outside experts convene to review new research proposals — until at least February 7.
Copyright 2025 NPR