
Fulbright scholarship board members resign over ‘unprecedented actions’ by the Trump administration
CNN
Nearly all of the members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board resigned on Wednesday, claiming the Trump administration is taking “unprecedented actions” they believe are “impermissible under the law.”
Nearly all of the members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board resigned on Wednesday, claiming the Trump administration is taking “unprecedented actions” they believe are “impermissible under the law.” The board said the Trump administration denied a “substantial number” of Fulbright awards to people who had already been selected for the 2025-2026 academic year and included “an unauthorized review process” for an additional 1,200 foreign Fulbright recipients who could now be rejected from the program, according to a statement posted online. “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,” they write. The resignations are the latest development in the saga between President Donald Trump and educational institutions that has seen the administration target colleges and universities across the country, threaten funding over political ideology and revoke scores of student visas. The Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board consists of 12 members appointed by the president and was established by Congress in 1961. The members select students, scholars, teachers and others to participate in the cultural exchange program. Carmen Estrada-Schaye is the only remaining board member after the resignations, according to the Associated Press. She is also the only member currently listed on the State Department’s website. CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.

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