Skip to primary navigation Skip to content
Fired by President Trump? We want to hear from you.
Was your grant canceled by President Trump? We want to hear from you.
report a concern
July 22, 2025

Lofgren, AFGE Leaders Hold Press Conference Releasing NSF Employees' Letter of Dissent

(Washington, DC) – Today, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) hosted a press conference to release, in coordination with American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a letter of dissent from National Science Foundation (NSF) employees. The letter was transmitted to House Science Committee Democrats as an official whistleblower complaint in order to allow the Committee to protect the signers from retaliation by the Trump administration.

At the press conference, Ranking Member Lofgren, AFGE President Everett Kelley, and AFGE Local 3403 President Jesus Soriano delivered remarks and participated in a press Q&A.

You can watch the press conference here.

“For 75 years, NSF has made this country a destination for students, innovators, and Nobel laureates. In just a little over 6 months, this Administration has torn it to shreds,” said Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). “I thank the 149 signers of the whistleblower disclosure for their bravery and their patriotism – there is no higher fulfillment of the oath you took to the Constitution than to speak out against these terrible actions. I promise to do all I can to protect you, protect your agency, and protect our scientific enterprise.”

“What’s happening at the National Science Foundation is a five-alarm fire,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “Career scientists and civil servants are being fired without cause, billions in research funding is being unlawfully withheld, and politically motivated interference is dismantling one of our most respected scientific agencies. This isn’t reform—it’s sabotage. If they can do this to NSF, no agency is safe. AFGE stands with our members at Local 3403 and demands immediate congressional action to restore jobs, release funding, and protect the legal rights of federal workers. Science is not the enemy—political retaliation is.”

“What’s happening at NSF is unlike anything we’ve faced before,” said Jesus Soriano, President of AFGE Local 3403. “Our members—scientists, program officers, and staff—have been targeted for doing their jobs with integrity. They’ve faced retaliation, mass terminations, and the illegal withholding of billions in research funding. But instead of backing down, we stood up—for science, for each other, and for the public we serve. We are grateful to Rep. Lofgren for standing with us to defend the civil service and protect the independence of American science.”