By Democratic attorneys general in 16 states led by New York and Massachusetts sued the Trump administration Friday over the cancellation of millions of dollars in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants for medical research.
In March, the NIH began to terminate millions of dollars in grant funding for previously approved research projects, including projects focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), LGBTQ health, and vaccine hesitancy, on the basis that the projects no longer align with NIH priorities.
But the agency did not define these terms or explain how they apply to the terminated research.
In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the coalition challenged the administration’s “abrupt, unjustified, and illegal decision to revoke these funds” as well as the NIH’s suspension of the grant approval process.
“Massachusetts is the medical research capital of the country. Not only do our public research institutions rely on NIH funding for their groundbreaking research, job creation and academic competitiveness, but our residents depend on these studies to propel lifesaving medical advancements,” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement. “I won’t allow the Trump Administration to take unlawful actions that play politics with our public health.”
By law, the NIH provides much of its support for scientific research and training in the form of grants to outside institutions. Since January, however, the administration has “engaged in a concerted, and multi-pronged effort to disrupt NIH’s grants,” the lawsuit alleges.
Those efforts have taken the form of across-the-board delays in the review and approval of otherwise-fundable grant applications and widespread terminations of already issued grants.
Collectively, the states involved in the lawsuit are awaiting decisions on billions of dollars in requested research funding, including millions of dollars in funding for projects that have already gotten the green light from NIH reviewers.
Typically, NIH grant applications must undergo two layers of review: by a “study section” of subject-matter experts who assess the scientific merit of the proposal and by an advisory council that considers funding availability and agency priorities.
Since January, the administration has canceled upcoming meetings for both of these review bodies and has delayed the scheduling of future meetings.
The lawsuit from the states asks the courts to restore the grant funding and ensure the government uses lawful procedures in determining funding.
It was filed against the NIH and its director, Jay Bhattacharya, as well as the Department of Human and Health Services and its secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
It follows a similar lawsuit filed earlier this week by a coalition of health researchers, unions and other stakeholders. That lawsuit was also filed in Massachusetts, making it likely they will be combined.
“Once again, the Trump administration is putting politics before public health and risking lives and livelihoods in the process,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “Millions of Americans depend on our nation’s research institutions for treatments and cures to the diseases that devastate families every day.”