U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies

https://www.science.org/content/article/u-s-government-has-lost-more-10-000-stem-ph-d-s-trump-took-office Approximately 10,109 doctoral-trained scientists and experts in STEM and health fields left federal positions in 2025 as the Trump administration dramatically reduced the size of the government workforce, according to data from the White House Office of Personnel Management. While some attrition occurred in 2024 under President Biden, the scale of losses last year was unprecedented, with STEM departures tripling in 2025. Across 14 major research agencies examined by Science, departures outnumbered new hires by a ratio of 11 to one, resulting in a net loss of 4,224 STEM PhDs. The National Institutes of Health saw the largest number of departures, rising from 421 in 2024 to over 1,100 in 2025, while the National Science Foundation lost 205 PhDs, or 40 percent of its pre-Trump workforce. Other agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the US Forest Service, also saw substantial