Entire Fulbright scholarship board resigns, citing issues with Trump's policies

By 
 June 14, 2025

President Donald Trump continues to live rent-free in the minds of his haters, and that was especially evidenced over the past week when an entire board resigned over the Trump administration's policies.

According to the Washington Examiner, the entire Fulbright scholarship board resigned last week, arguing that the Trump administration is undermining and compromising the longstanding program.

The entire board, comprised of 12 members, resigned all at once, leaving the 80-year-old program up in the air, for now.

The Fulbright board is "tasked with administering the prestigious scholarship to Americans and foreigners to continue their educational studies," the outlet noted.

What happened?

The board members who resigned issued a statement via Substack explaining why they chose to do what they did.

“Our resignation is not a decision we take lightly,” the board said in a post to Substack.

They added, “But 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. Indeed, the erosion of the Fulbright program weakens America and our national security interests.

The former board members accused the Trump administration of being much more selective in who receives the scholarships, which have typically been signed off on by Congress.

The report noted:

The board accused the Trump administration of undermining its authority by denying “a substantial number of individuals who were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year.” The board also said the Trump administration has engaged in an unauthorized review process of 1,200 foreign Fulbright recipients.

"We believe these actions not only contradict the statute but are antithetical to the Fulbright mission and the values, including free speech and academic freedom, that Congress specified in the statute,” the board wrote. “It is worth noting that the awards that were overridden include studies in categories such as biology, engineering, architecture, agriculture, crop sciences, animal sciences, biochemistry, medical sciences, music, and history.”

Social media reaction

Users across social media had plenty to say about the abrupt, mass resignation.

"Good. If vetting foreign students for national security makes them quit, they were never serving America to begin with. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out," one X user wrote.

Another X user wrote, "Good, they are all Democrats."

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