Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is sounding the alarm over deep cuts to science and education funding, calling them so damaging that if another country were responsible, it would be considered a hostile act.
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‘An Act of War’
“If a foreign adversary snuck into our Federal budget and cut science research and education the way we're cutting it ourselves — strategically undermining America's long-term health, wealth, and security — we would likely consider it an act of war,” Tyson posted May 19 on X.
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He also shared Pablo Picasso’s painting “Guernica,” a powerful anti-war image, to drive the point home.
Funding at Historic Lows
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the National Science Foundation is awarding new grants at the slowest pace in at least 35 years. As of May 21, the NSF had awarded $989 million in new grants for 2025 — a 51% drop from the $2 billion average seen between 2015 and 2024.
These cuts affect nearly every field of science, not just the ones President Donald Trump's administration labeled “woke.” According to the Times, NSF funding is down across the board: physics grants are down 85%, engineering down 57%, biology down 52%, and STEM education down 80%.
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Support From the Military and Historical Context
Tyson continued pressing the issue on May 20, writing, “Not that anyone asked, but during my tenure on the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Board, under part of Obama-2 and all of Trump-1, we visited Military Bases domestically & abroad. At no time did any member of the Armed Forces I met say to me: ‘America needs less science funding.'”
He also addressed Republicans directly in a separate post: “Cutting science budgets has not historically been a Republican thing. For example, Lincoln created the National Academy of Sciences. Eisenhower’s term increased the science budget 366%. Gerald Ford +15%; George H W Bush +30%; George W Bush +54%. Just sayin'.”
Experts Warn of Long-Term Damage
The impact of the cuts is not just short-term. Experts warn they could severely damage the country's future competitiveness. Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, called the cuts “the height of self-inflicted harm.”
“If they succeed in these cuts, the result will be slower economic growth, less innovation and new tech startups, and even more diminished competitiveness vis-à-vis China,” Atkinson told the Times.
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On the other hand, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) told the Times that the administration is ignoring Congressional intent. “What they're doing is not only illegal, but it's also very damaging to the science enterprise and, ultimately, to the economy of the United States.”
Tyson's warning adds a high-profile voice to growing concerns that the U.S. is undercutting its own future.
In the meantime, France and the European Union are rolling out a $567 million plan to attract U.S. researchers affected by budget cuts. President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen say Europe wants to be a new home for scientists facing uncertainty in the U.S.
“You can’t have science without scientists,” Lofgren said. Tyson and others are now asking: Without proper funding, who will be left to carry the torch?
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