Nominee to Lead the National Science Foundation is an “Unacceptable Choice” that Senate Should Reject

"O'Neill is simply an unacceptable choice to run one of the world's most important science agencies," Dr. Julian Reyes, UCS chief of staff, writes in a new blog post. He notes that President Trump's Senate allies might let the White House make this appointment without giving it the scrutiny it deserves.

Until recently, O'Neill served as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. O'Neill wrote the HHS memo announcing changes to childhood vaccine recommendations, which among other vaccine decisions made over the past year were blocked yesterday by a federal judge in Massachusetts who noted that they disregarded science and legal procedure.

The NSF, created to promote progress in science and engineering, supports about a quarter of all federally funded basic research at U.S. colleges and universities. O'Neill, who has a hedge fund and venture capital background, would be the only NSF director who is not a scientist or engineer.

"If O'Neill is confirmed as NSF's director, the Trump administration will further tighten its control over an agency created by Congress to be independent in its work to advance science," writes Dr. Reyes.