WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 100 science-focused federal committees have been terminated under the second Trump administration, according to a news analysis in the journal Nature. Hundreds of experts have been dismissed from federal science advisory boards since President Trump took office.

White House officials stated in a statement that the dissolved committees were found to be redundant, unnecessary, or ineffective. The terminations span a wide range of scientific disciplines and public health concerns.

Terminated committees include those devoted to planning future NASA space science and astrophysics missions. Other dissolved groups include those devoted to managing fisheries and sustaining U.S. seafood resources. Committees devoted to reducing preventable infections in hospitals were also among those terminated.

Netia McCray joined the federal advisory committee on long COVID in 2025. After serving for a few months, she received an email notice that the long COVID advisory committee was terminated effective immediately. The long COVID advisory committee never held a single meeting.

The long COVID advisory committee included twelve other experts from fields including public health, pulmonology, and critical care. Dr. Alexandra Yonts is a pediatrician at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C. and specializes in long COVID in children.

Hilary Babcock is an infectious disease researcher who served on the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) before it was terminated. Cases of Candida auris have risen sharply in recent years.

Candida auris is a drug-resistant fungus that can live on surfaces in healthcare facilities and cause deadly infections in humans. The fungus can spread between patients and resist some antifungal treatments. Scott Roberts is an infectious disease doctor at Yale.

Russ Paulsen is the President and CEO of the science advocacy group Research!America. Michael Abrams is a health researcher at Public Citizen.

Why It Matters

The termination of these committees removes established channels for expert guidance on critical health and science issues. The scale of the dismissals affects areas ranging from space exploration to hospital infection control and chronic disease management.

Timeline

Congress passed the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) in 1972. The Union of Concerned Scientists counts 150 advisory committees at science agencies terminated in 2025. As of March 2026, more than a quarter of the country's healthcare-related committees have been shut down, according to the advocacy group Public Citizen.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established a working group on Candida auris in 2016. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have hosted forums on long COVID since 2021. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) coordinated the formation of the long COVID advisory committee in 2025. Public Citizen tracks federal advisory committees and reports that 150 such panels were active at science agencies at the start of 2025. NASA’s Advisory Council was formed in 1971. The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires public reporting and oversight for advisory bodies that provide guidance to federal agencies. The Union of Concerned Scientists reported that as of early 2026, advisory committees at more than ten federal science agencies had been disbanded. Research!America estimates that over 1,200 scientists and public health experts previously served on the terminated committees. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) previously maintained advisory committees on fisheries and climate resilience. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has not confirmed whether any of its advisory panels have been formally dissolved. The Department of Energy (DOE) previously hosted advisory boards on energy efficiency and grid modernization. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not issued a public statement on the status of its science advisory committees. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not announced changes to its existing advisory structure. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has not commented on the dissolution of disease-specific advisory panels. The White House has not provided a detailed list of which specific committees were terminated. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) oversees compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Public Citizen continues to monitor the status of federal science advisory committees and publish updates quarterly.