In his latest “anti-WOKE” tantrum, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has shared a database of 3,400 National Science Foundation (NSF) grants that he claims may be pushing “neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda,” NPR reports.
What do these grants targeted by Texas’ junior senator propose to do? Clone Vladimir Lenin using preserved hair from his goatee? Create a new drug to let workers control the means of production? Add chemicals to drinking water to sap and impurify our precious bodily fluids?
No, Cruz’s list targets a broad array of seemingly non-controversial NSF grants, according to NPR’s analysis. Among other things, the grants on the list would fund research to synthesize new medications, bolster safety of self-driving vehicles and examine why certain malfunctioning proteins can lead to cancer.
The list also appears to specifically target grants that feature language about “broadening the participation of women and underrepresented groups in science,” the news outlet reports. In the 1990s, Congress mandated the NSF consider those objectives during its grant-making process.
Among Cruz’s targeted grants was one won by Kylea Garces, a Miami University ecologist who uses the federal funding to study ways to boost plants’ resilience, according to NPR. The money also supports efforts to broaden students’ participation in collegiate science classes.
“I think there’s a lot of mischaracterization done right now with throwing around of ‘DEI’ or social justice,” Garces told NPR. “There’s nothing political about wanting students to learn. That’s not social justice. That is simply giving all students an opportunity to get a good grade and be able to succeed in their future career.”
Joshua Weitz, a biologist at the University of Maryland, told NPR that Cruz’s database is “ludicrous” and targets worthwhile research.
“[Cruz] is using his position as a senator to make a big noise about fundamental research and mis-categorizing what’s going on in the research and technology sector in this country,” said Weitz, who isn’t on the list but has received prior NSF grants. “If one looks at this list, you find things that we should absolutely be proud of funding.”
It’s tempting to write off Cruz’s list as the latest in a long line of anti-woke stunts aimed at ginning up right-wing outrage. However, NPR’s reporting suggests his anti-science moves have serious repercussions.
Cruz, for example, used the list as the basis for a report he delivered last fall to the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee that alleged more than 20% of the NSF’s $9 billion budget backed “left-wing ideological crusades” disguised as legitimate research, according to NPR.
The database also includes an appendix of “woke” buzzwords that NSF staff are now using to screen active grants to ensure they line up with President Trump’s executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion in the U.S. government, the news outlet also found.
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This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2025.
