All members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board resigned Wednesday, citing alleged political interference by members of the Trump administration.
In a statement posted to Substack, the dozen former board members said they “voted overwhelmingly” to resign “rather than endorse unprecedented actions that we believe are impermissible under the law, compromise U.S. national interests and integrity, and undermine the mission and mandates Congress established for the Fulbright program nearly 80 years ago.”
The prestigious program — which awards a select group of scholars and academics the opportunity to continue research abroad each year — is managed by the State Department, where career officials conduct a yearlong search for applicants, who are ultimately approved by the independent Fulbright board.
The United States will reduce funding allocated for military assistance to Ukraine in its upcoming defense budget, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a congressional hearing on June 10.
