Trump Meddling Prompts Mass Fulbright Board Resignation \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ All 12 members of the Fulbright scholarship board resigned Wednesday, citing political interference by the Trump administration. The board claims the administration blocked awards and launched unauthorized reviews of recipients. Their resignation warns of harm to academic freedom and U.S. global credibility.
Quick Looks
- All 12 Fulbright board members resign in coordinated protest
- Board accuses Trump administration of blocking selected recipients
- Unauthorized reviews threaten over 1,200 approved awardees
- Board says interference violates Fulbright statute and mission
- Fulbright promotes international education and U.S. diplomacy
- Resignations underscore growing tension over academic freedom
- State Department has not responded to requests for comment
- Trump increases scrutiny on foreign students and visa programs
- Resignations first reported by The New York Times
- Scholars in STEM and humanities fields affected by award cancellations
Deep Look
In an extraordinary act of protest, all 12 members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board resigned en masse Wednesday, accusing President Donald Trump’s administration of politicizing and undermining one of the United States’ most respected international academic programs. In a jointly signed statement, the board said it could no longer serve under an administration that was, in their words, “meddling with the program’s independence and legality.”
The resignation letter, published online, claims that the Trump administration overrode the board’s authority by denying Fulbright awards to “a substantial number of people” who had already been selected through the program’s rigorous, merit-based process. It further reveals that over 1,200 other scholarship recipients—who had already been approved to enter the United States—are now undergoing what the board describes as an unauthorized secondary review, raising the risk that they too could be barred from participating.
“To continue to serve after the Administration has consistently ignored the Board’s request that they follow the law would risk legitimizing actions we believe are unlawful and damage the integrity of this storied program and America’s credibility abroad,” the board members wrote.
Established by Congress nearly eight decades ago, the Fulbright Program has become a hallmark of U.S. soft power, diplomacy, and global educational exchange. Each year, it grants about 9,000 awards to scholars, professionals, teachers, and students in more than 160 countries, spanning fields from medical science and engineering to history and public policy. Selections are made through a yearlong process led by nonpartisan staff at the U.S. State Department—free from political oversight or ideological screening.
The now-former board members argue that the Trump administration’s intervention not only violates the Fulbright Act but also fundamentally betrays the program’s core values: merit-based selection, academic freedom, and international goodwill. “We believe these actions not only contradict the statute but are antithetical to the Fulbright mission,” they wrote, adding that the administration’s decisions appear to target awardees for political or ideological reasons.
The resignations, first reported by The New York Times, come amid a broader climate of hostility toward international scholars and foreign students. The Trump administration has increased its vetting of international students’ social media activity, expanded the criteria for revoking student visas, and paused interviews for new visa applicants. These moves, critics say, are designed to chill academic exchange and make it harder for foreign students and researchers to study or collaborate in the United States.
Among those affected by the blocked Fulbright awards are scholars in vital fields such as biology, medical sciences, engineering, and humanities—individuals who, under normal circumstances, would contribute directly to research and innovation in the U.S.
The board warned that continued political interference threatens not only the future of the Fulbright program but also America’s global reputation as a leader in education and intellectual exchange. “It is our sincere hope that Congress, the courts, and future Fulbright Boards will prevent the administration’s efforts to degrade, dismantle, or even eliminate one of our nation’s most respected and valuable programs,” their statement concluded.
The U.S. State Department, which administers the Fulbright Program, has not issued an official comment on the resignations or the accusations of unlawful interference.
Critics fear that this episode is part of a larger trend of the Trump administration centralizing control over independent institutions and retaliating against organizations perceived as not aligned with its political agenda. Advocacy groups for higher education and international exchange have also begun sounding the alarm, warning that the Fulbright crisis could lead to diminished interest in studying or partnering with U.S. institutions abroad.
The mass resignation of the Fulbright board marks one of the strongest institutional rebukes yet to the administration’s education and immigration policies. It not only reflects concern over individual policy decisions but raises broader questions about the erosion of institutional norms, rule of law, and the politicization of academic and diplomatic programs once considered untouchable.
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