Entire Board Overseeing State Department Program Resigns in Trump Protest
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
In protest at alleged political interference from President Donald Trump's administration, all members of the U.S. State Department's Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board have voted to resign, the board said on Wednesday.
The board, which facilitates international educational exchanges, said in a statement released on the website Substack, that the current administration "usurped the authority of the Board and denied Fulbright awards to a substantial number of individuals who were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year."
It added that the administration is also currently subjecting an additional 1,200 foreign Fulbright recipients to "an unauthorized review process and could reject more."
"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 said.
File photo: The State Department seal is seen on the briefing room lectern at the State Department in Washington.
File photo: The State Department seal is seen on the briefing room lectern at the State Department in Washington.
Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP
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