Widespread federal research funding reductions have prompted foreign universities and governments to actively recruit U.S. researchers, raising alarms about a potential brain drain. Analysts and association leaders say between $3.3 billion and $3.7 billion in federal cuts to research at more than 600 institutions has made overseas offers more attractive to some investigators. Tabbye Chavous of the American Educational Research Association and City College physicist Michael Lubell warned that lost research capacity could weaken U.S. competitiveness on climate, health and technology fronts. A Nature poll cited in reporting found roughly three‑quarters of more than 1,600 scientists surveyed were considering leaving the U.S. because of funding uncertainty. University research offices, federal agencies and congressional appropriators will need to consider retention incentives, international partnerships and emergency bridge funding to prevent long‑term erosion of technical capacity. The trend could also shift graduate training and postdoctoral pipelines if institutions abroad expand recruitment.