Watchdog Exposes National Academies Spending Taxpayer Dollars on Woke Agenda
A watchdog report reveals America's premier science body spends hundreds of millions in federal funds on progressive activism while maintaining claims of nonpartisan status.
Your tax dollars fund America's most prestigious science body — but a new watchdog report reveals the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has become a pipeline for progressive activism. The organization spends hundreds of millions on DEI programs, transgender youth initiatives, and climate advocacy while claiming nonpartisan status.
Consumers' Research published its "Woke Alert" report this week, accusing the congressionally chartered institution of using federal funds to advance left-leaning causes. The National Academies receives approximately 70 percent of its budget from taxpayer dollars, totaling $200.6 million in 2023 alone, according to the organization's treasurer's report.
Will Hild, executive director of Consumers' Research, called NASEM "a radical woke organization masquerading as a nonpartisan educational institution." He told Fox News Digital, "From pushing transgender ideology onto kids to spreading 'defund the police' insanity, this taxpayer-supported organization regularly abuses its status and reputation to fund the left's favorite causes."
The report arrives as taxpayers increasingly demand accountability for government-funded institutions captured by ideological agendas. The Trump administration already forced NASEM to close its Office of Diversity and Inclusion following a January 2025 executive order ending federal DEI programs.
Three NASEM presidents each earn over $1 million annually, with the organization's Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer collecting $333,788 per year. All positions draw substantial funding from federal sources. NASEM's own spokesperson confirmed 58 percent of the institution's 2024 funding came from government sources.
NASEM partnered with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in January 2022 to launch the Science Diversity Leadership program. The initiative awards $1.15 million grants over five years to biomedical researchers who promote diversity, equity and inclusion. The program has already selected two cohorts of recipients.
The organization published multiple transgender-related publications, including an April 2023 workshop titled "Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth." Another 2022 publication focused on "Reducing Inequalities Between Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Adolescents and Cisgender, Heterosexual Adolescents."
NASEM established its Committee on Reducing Racial Inequalities in the Criminal Justice System following 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. The committee evaluated Austin, Texas's proposal to cut $50 million from police budgets. Committee co-chair Bruce Western stated police have "caused a great deal of harm in low-income communities and communities of color."
The National Academies fast-tracked a review of the Environmental Protection Agency's 2009 Endangerment Finding rescission in August 2025. House Oversight Chair James Comer launched an investigation that September, calling NASEM's climate review "a blatant partisan act to undermine the Trump Administration."
A 2026 PNAS Nexus study tested 17 behavioral intervention techniques on more than 31,000 U.S. participants to "catalyze public, political, and financial climate advocacy." The study aimed to make Americans more likely to participate in climate activism.
Roger Pielke Jr., a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute specializing in science and technology policy, told Fox News Digital the National Academies has transformed from acting under congressional direction to serving as an "independent actor" for billionaires and foundations. He noted NASEM received funding from the Bezos Earth Fund, which funds climate change litigation.
Political donation records show NASEM leadership overwhelmingly supports Democratic candidates. Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences, donated to President Biden, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.
NASEM employees gave more than $57,000 to Democratic candidates in 2024 alone. The organization also directed millions in grants to progressive organizations, including $4.4 million to the Urban Institute and nearly $3 million to Population Services International.
A NASEM spokesperson provided a prepared statement defending the organization's work. "Each year, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conduct hundreds of studies, workshops, and other activities at the request of federal and state agencies, Congress, foundations, and private-sector sponsors on a variety of critical issues facing the nation," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added, "We have taken measures to ensure that we are in compliance with executive orders, including closing our Office of Diversity and Inclusion. We stand ready, as we always have, to advise the new administration on its priorities."
Hild dismissed NASEM's claims of neutrality. The Consumers' Research report states the National Academies have "become one of the most powerful engines driving the left's cultural and political agenda pushing DEI, transgender ideology, and a radical climate agenda on the taxpayer's dime."
The watchdog report documents how taxpayer-funded science institutions increasingly serve ideological rather than objective scientific purposes. With the Department of Government Efficiency scrutinizing federal spending, NASEM faces mounting pressure to justify its use of public funds for progressive activism.
Families across America send their tax payments to Washington with the expectation of funding genuine science. Instead, they discover their contributions fuel political activism at institutions that should remain neutral arbiters of fact. The question now is whether accountability will finally reach America's most prestigious scientific body.