A U.S. judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s cuts to federal grant funding for research institutions, including universities and medical centers. The cuts, which were set to take effect on Monday, were challenged by Democratic attorneys general from 22 states in federal court in Boston. The lawsuit concerned the reimbursement rate for research institution costs not directly related to project goals, such as laboratory space, faculty, equipment, and infrastructure. The states accused the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of exceeding its authority and violating federal law.
The Trump administration had announced that it would cap the reimbursement rate for indirect costs at 15%, down from an average of about 27% to 28%. The NIH claimed that this change would save the federal government $4 billion annually and pointed to schools with large endowments that were charging high indirect rates. However, the state attorneys general argued that the cuts would result in layoffs, research disruptions, and laboratory closures.
The lawsuit also accused the NIH of making the cuts retroactive to existing federal grants and adopting the policy without following proper rulemaking procedures. Harvard University, Yale University, and Johns Hopkins University, among others, have expressed concerns over the impact of the cuts on research funding and activities. A group of medical trade organizations has filed a separate lawsuit seeking to block the NIH’s cuts as well. The judge scheduled a hearing for further arguments, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH, has not responded to the ruling.
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