The Python Software Foundation (PSF)—the organization overseeing the development of the Python programming language—has declined a $1.5 million federal grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), citing new restrictions imposed under the agency’s revised funding terms. These conditions, introduced amid the “War on Woke” policy agenda of Donald Trump’s administration, effectively bar funding to organizations that support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. As a result, several planned projects aimed at strengthening the security of the Python ecosystem and the PyPI package repository will now remain unrealized.
Lauren Crary, Deputy Executive Director of the PSF, explained that the NSF’s contract required recipients to affirm that they “do not and will not engage in programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or any discriminatory ideologies.” This stipulation applied not only to the specific security initiative but to the entire scope of the foundation’s activities. Furthermore, the NSF retained the right to demand repayment of any funds already disbursed if it determined that the foundation had violated the anti-DEI clause. According to Crary, this provision created significant uncertainty and financial risk, as the PSF could have been forced to return funds that had already been spent in good faith.
The foundation stated that such conditions were fundamentally incompatible with its mission to support a “diverse, global community of Python developers.” Although the grant would have been the largest in the organization’s history, the PSF board voted unanimously to reject it. With an annual budget of roughly $5 million and a staff of just 14 employees, the decision carried considerable weight for the small nonprofit.
Had the agreement proceeded, the funds would have been directed toward supply chain attack prevention, automated verification of new PyPI packages, and the development of security tools applicable across open-source ecosystems. Crary acknowledged that turning down the grant would hinder the implementation of important cybersecurity initiatives but stressed that compromising the foundation’s core principles would have been far more damaging in the long run.
The PSF’s decision has been broadly supported by the global Python community, which, Crary noted, reinforced the organization’s confidence in its stance. She also remarked that the NSF was undermining its own mission by imposing restrictions that impede the funding of legitimate scientific and technological projects.
A similar decision was previously made by The Carpentries, another nonprofit that provides training in programming and data analysis for researchers. Faced with the same anti-DEI requirements, it likewise chose principle over funding. Meanwhile, operations at the National Science Foundation remain suspended amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
