When President Barack Obama took the White House in 2008, his knowledge of science was admittedly limited, but his interest in it wasn’t. Within days of his election, he began selecting the scientists and tech wonks for his science advisory board, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The OSTP was fully staffed within months, and became “the most active in history, starting 34 studies of subjects as varied as advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity,” according to The New York Times. The office also advised Obama on relevant budgets, technological advancements, and policy goals, and organized an annual science fair for youngsters that produced reliably fun, nerdy videos in which, for instance, a student fires a marshmallow cannon inside the State Dining Room of the White House.

Today, nearly three months into Donald Trump’s presidency, OSTP is nearly empty. According to a report last week in The New York Times, the 24-person staff of the chief technology officer “has been virtually deleted,” and scores of career OSTP staffers have departed since Obama skipped town. The White House confirmed on Tuesday that Trump has only made one new hire. Michael Kratsios, formerly the chief of staff for the venture capitalist and Trump donor Peter Thiel, is serving as deputy chief technology officer. It had been widely reported that Princeton University physicist William Happer was being considered for the position of OSTP director, but Happer told me he hasn’t heard anything from the Trump administration since his initial meeting with them in January. “I don’t think it is very likely that I will be offered the job,” he said.

A bare-bones OSTP staff at this point is not unprecedented. President George W. Bush waited until June of his first year to select his science advisor. But amid endless accusations that Trump is waging a war on science, his lack of attention to OSTP concerns scientists such as Dr. John Holdren, the former OSTP director and Obama’s chief science advisor.

“There is reason to worry about whether President Trump will ever fill some of these positions, given his rhetoric and that of some of his close advisors, to the effect that it’s not clear a lot of these positions are needed,” Holdren said in an e-mail. “That view reflects a profound ignorance (or willful misdirection) concerning the importance of sensible federal government science and technology policies for the U.S. economy, national security, public health, and the environment, among other values.”

But the White House insists OSTP won’t remain empty for long. Eleanor Celeste, currently the office’s assistant director for biomedical and forensic sciences, told me that the Trump administration “is working to recruit and confirm a director and has begun the process of recruiting new staff.” Indeed, another candidate for OSTP director, Yale computer scientist David Gelernter, told me the White House has “never considered” leaving the position unfilled, and that he believes he’s still in the running.