Washington [US], June 13: All 12 members of the Fulbright scholarship program management board of the US State Department resigned en masse on June 11 to protest the White House's interference in the candidate list.
In a statement posted on the Substack platform, the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Council announced that its members had overwhelmingly agreed to the decision, according to Reuters on June 12.
Debate over decision making
In explaining the resignation, the board accused the White House of rejecting a significant number of individuals who had been selected for the 2025-2026 academic year through a rigorous, merit-based vetting process. The New York Times reported that the board had reviewed the applications of about 200 American professors and researchers who were scheduled to work at universities and research institutes abroad this summer. The State Department was supposed to send them letters of approval in April. However, board members discovered that the department's Office of Public Diplomacy had instead sent rejection letters based on the scholars' research topics.
The board also suspects that the Trump administration is reviewing 1,200 foreign Fulbright recipients, which could lead to more people being removed from the list of recipients. The board argues that its members should have the final say in awarding scholarships and should be politically independent. For that reason, the board members decided to resign rather than go along with unprecedented actions that they believe are unacceptable and detrimental to the national interest and integrity of the United States.
The Washington Post reported that the Fulbright Scholarship Program was established by the US Congress in 1946 and implemented through the State Department. The program's goal is to promote US foreign policy through academic exchange. Each year, about 8,000 scholarships are awarded to students, scholars, scientists, artists and professors from the US and abroad.
In response to the above developments, the US State Department issued a statement denying the allegations of the 12 board members. According to the US State Department, the board does not have the final say in the selection process for scholarship candidates, especially when it comes to determining academic suitability and alignment with President Trump's executive orders. "It is false to assume that the Fulbright Hayes Act gives the Fulbright Board full and final authority over scholarship applications," Reuters quoted the US State Department's announcement. The 12 board members who have just resigned were all appointed under the Joe Biden administration.
Risk of widespread protests
In another development, from June 13 (US time), the Marine Corps will be deployed on the streets of Los Angeles (California) to coordinate actions with the National Guard here, according to Reuters. The US military announced on June 11 that 700 Marines had completed special training for the mission in Los Angeles, including crowd control and de-escalation skills. Together with the National Guard, the Marines are tasked with protecting federal officials and property. With this mission, the US military said the Marines will be allowed to arrest anyone who obstructs the immigration agency from cracking down on illegal immigrants, or confronts authorities during protests.
The decision to deploy military forces to counter protesters in Los Angeles has been controversial and has led to widespread protests. Protests have also taken place in Santa Ana, California, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Seattle, Boston, Washington, DC, and San Antonio, Texas. The protests are expected to spread further by the end of the week, with a total of 1,800 protests planned for June 14, the same day as a military parade scheduled to take place in the capital to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US Army.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
