- Python Software Foundation rejects what would be the largest grant ever awarded
- To accept the grant, you would have to abandon any DEI-related activities.
- The National Science Foundation could “recover” the funds
The Python Software Foundation has turned down a $1.5 million government grant to uphold its values and commitment to integrity.
Python’s board of directors voted unanimously to withdraw its application for what would have been the largest grant in the organization’s history in protest against the rules outlined by the US government in accepting such awards.
The Trump administration’s anti-DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) requirements mean that any recipient of grants awarded by the National Science Foundation must comply with policy requirements, not just with security work directly funded by the grant, but with “any and all PSF activities as a whole,” meaning that Python would be forced to abandon any project that might fall under this umbrella.
Right to ‘recover’
The terms cited by the Python Software Foundation included requirements that “during the term of this financial assistance award, no program would operate that promotes or promotes DEI, or discriminatory equity ideology in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws.”
This means that it would not be able to carry out its founding mission goal of “supporting and facilitating the growth of a diverse, international community of Python programmers,” a commitment wholly incompatible with the grant’s restrictive conditions.
‘Furthermore, violation of this term gave NSF the right to “recapture” previously approved and transferred funds. “This would create a situation where money we had already spent could be recouped, which would be a huge indefinite financial risk,” the Python Software Foundation continued in its statement.
This is not the first time that the Trump administration’s attempts to control and manipulate private businesses into aligning with the current administration’s political vision have failed, and nonprofit The Carpentries also withdrew a similar application so it could continue to support and educate underrepresented students in outreach, recruitment, and engagement programs.
The National Science Foundation is also not the only department that employs strict political restrictions on its grant programs. The Department of Homeland Security also indicated that funding for election security would be withheld from states if they did not meet election policy goals, making the funds inaccessible to most of the country.
This represents a serious and worrying move toward authoritarianism, in which the president and administration hold hostage the funds needed to tightly control the political direction of public and private organizations alike.
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