Inside (the Beltway) Scoop

By: Ellen Kuo
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Advocates Begin to Prepare Transition Documents 

As the election nears, advocacy groups are dusting off their presidential transition documents and taking a second look at what themes and requests will be in their next version for either the Trump or Harris administration. The Coalition for the National Science Foundation, or CNSF, asked its coalition members for their revisions to the 2020 transition document.

With a new presidency comes new appointments. For example, at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Sethuraman Panchanathan, PhD, was nominated as the 15th director under President Donald Trump in 2019. Although the NSF director position is a six-year appointment, Panchanathan could step down after the election in November despite the tremendous work he has done seeking to unleash the talent of the missing millions and the establishment of a cross-cutting platform that integrates NSF’s work of existing directorates and foster partnerships with various stakeholders. The new directorate is the first reorganization of existing functions within NSF in over 30 years. Named the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, its mission is to bring use-inspired research to society.
 
We could also see changes at the National Institutes of Health if Monica Bertagnolli, MD, who serves as the 17th director and is the first surgeon to hold this position, is not retained by either the Harris or Trump administration. She was nominated by President Joe Biden in 2023 and confirmed in November 2023.