Democrats temporarily stop Trump’s attempts to make America sicker as 22 Democratic attorney generals filed a successful lawsuit to continue NIH funding for critical disease prevention research

In response to the Trump administration attempting to slash NIH funding for critical disease prevention research and Democratic attorneys general fighting back, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump and Elon Musk aren’t making Americans healthier but they will certainly make us sicker. To hand his billionaire backers another tax cut, Trump tried to slash funding for critical disease prevention research, including for pediatric cancer. We aren’t going to sit back as Trump goes after America’s kids. Yesterday, as Trump violated a court order stopping the funding freeze, 22 Democratic attorneys general filed a successful lawsuit to keep this critical research moving forward, and we’ll keep fighting for children and families that Trump is kicking to the curb.”  

Trump’s attempted NIH funding freeze could pause pediatric cancer research for many small and mid-sized institutions that rely on federal funding for research:

New York Times: “While some elite universities do have large endowments, 

Lawrence O. Gostin, an expert in public health law at Georgetown University, said indirect costs are a lifeline for smaller academic institutions, including historically Black colleges, that depend on federal dollars and conduct medical research on tight margins, often losing money.

“‘This would be catastrophic,’ Professor Gostin said. ‘It would mean that, at the most extreme, universities wouldn’t be able to even take N.I.H. money, and would have to stop doing essential research, including research on pediatric cancer and heart disease and dementia and a whole range of other things. At the very best, they would be hemorrhaging money.’”

Democratic attorneys general across 22 states filed a successful lawsuit in an effort to stop the Trump admin from implementing new NIH capped rates that will slash federal grant funding universities, medical centers, and other research institutions.   

Washington Post: “The agency’s new policy will cap the rate at 15 percent and take effect on Monday, cutting tens of millions of dollars or more in funding for many universities — virtually overnight.”

Reuters:  “A U.S. judge on Monday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration’s sharp cuts to federal grant funding for universities, medical centers and other research institutions.

“U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley’s decision was a win for Democratic attorneys general from 22 U.S. states who sued on Monday in federal court in Boston to challenge cuts adopted by the National Institutes of Health to the reimbursement rate for some costs of the research institutions.

“The cuts were due to take effect on Monday.” 

The consequences of these proposed Trump cuts would be swift and devastating – Americans will lose their jobs and critical research programs will be forced to pause.

Missouri Independent: “A federal judge on Monday prevented the National Institutes of Health from changing the percentage that universities and medical schools are paid in facilities and administrative costs in 22 states that filed a lawsuit, blocking a decision that was rebuked by academic institutions throughout the country and members of Congress.

“The order followed a long weekend of speculation as research universities and medical schools grappled with how to implement a major change in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health that they warn could curtail breakthroughs or halt projects altogether, and that a senior Democrat in Congress called ‘nothing short of catastrophic.’”