As Donald Trump has taken an axe to US federal spending, thousands of highly educated experts in scientific fields have left the government. In an astonishing reversal, the country which has historically benefited from the “brain drain” phenomenon is now experiencing it within its own government. Brain drain refers to circumstances in which highly trained experts from underdeveloped and overexploited countries migrate to wealthier international job markets. Now the United States government — which once fielded as many as 281,000 scientists and engineers — is experiencing a similar phenomenon. According to Science magazine, federal agencies have lost some 10,109 doctoral-level experts in STEM and health fields over the last year.