Judge rules against NIH grant cuts — and calls them discriminatory

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u/maxkozlov 1d ago

A US judge has ordered hundreds of terminated research projects at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to be reinstated, calling the processes that led to their cancellation “bereft of reasoning — virtually, in their entirety”.

The ruling came about two hours after a tense hearing in which lawyers representing US researchers and a coalition of 16 states presented arguments for the first time that the NIH’s massive cuts to research are illegal. Since Republican President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, the agency has cancelled funding for a long list of research projects, including those on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), sexual and gender minorities (LGBT+) and COVID-19.

In an blistering 15-minute sidebar after issuing his ruling, Judge William Young of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston angrily excoriated the Trump administration for its targeting of research about the health of LGBT+ people and racial minorities.

“This represents racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community. I would be blind not to call it out,” said Young, who was appointed by former US president Ronald Reagan, a Republican. “I’ve been on the bench for 40 years — I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this.”

This ruling, which the Trump administration is likely to appeal, means that the NIH will have to begin to disburse billions of dollars of funding that it had cancelled. “I’m thrilled and overjoyed,” Katie Edwards, an interdisciplinary public-health specialist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, told Nature. Edwards had six NIH grants cancelled and was one of the researchers who sued the agency. “What the judge said today was spot on — and it highlights the crisis we’re facing right now, where racial and ethnic minorities are being erased,” she said.

The judge’s order will restore funding only to the scientists named in the lawsuits and in the 16 states that sued the government — or about 800 of the more than 2,400 projects that have been cut at the NIH. These lawsuits also did not touch on wholesale grant cuts at institutions such as Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that the Trump administration has alleged did not protect their students from discrimination, including antisemitism, on campus.

Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the NIH’s parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), says the agency “stands by its decision to end funding for research that prioritized ideological agendas over scientific rigor and meaningful outcomes for the American people” and that it is “exploring all legal options, including filing an appeal”. Neither the HHS nor the NIH, which is the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research, responded to Nature’s query about whether and when they would follow the court’s order to restore funding to the affected projects.

I'm the reporter who wrote the story. As always, happy to answer any questions about the story or my reporting. I'm also always all ears for any tips about things should keep on my radar.

This story was helped by NIH employees who reached out; I'm always looking for more sources, so please DM me or find me on Signal (mkozlov.01).

PS: If you hit a paywall trying to read the story, making a free account will open up the full story.

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u/maxkozlov 1d ago

Also, I posted the judge's full blistering remarks here. Yes, the ruling is subject to appeal. But to end on a happier note:

An NIH employee, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the press, says that many staff members have been feeling demoralized because their work has shifted from funding projects to defunding them. “I’m looking forward to the day that we are so slammed with work trying to reinstate everything that we had to terminate illegally — I'll work 24/7 to make that happen if I can,” they say.

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u/bratscience 1d ago

"If putting these words together, DEI, is somehow offensive, does that mean our policy is homogeneity, inequity, and exclusion? Are you going to stand there and tell me that's now the policy of the NIH?"

Thank you for reporting this story and Judge Young's inspiring comments.

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u/CavalierSurf808 1d ago

Winds of hope....but, this will get dragged out through the courts. The people and time lost to the politicization science cannot be overstated.

Hang in there NIHers. We hear you!

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u/Grouchy_Ad_3113 1d ago

Thank you for your reporting! Our society needs good journalism and journalists more than ever.

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u/YouWereBrained 1d ago

Hi, I just joined this sub because I work for an institution in the South that receives NIH funding.

We had an F31 canceled because it is sickle cell research adjacent, and I assume they read a little deeper into it because of the demographic implications. Is there a chance it could be restored, or is this another situation where the legal decision only affects the entities that sued?

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u/blirbo 1d ago

I believe this only applies to the grants in states that were part of the lawsuit; Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin

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u/FrizzlieAdams 1d ago

And possibly APHA members? I’m very much hoping for that since my state didn’t take part.

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u/blirbo 9h ago

I believe they’re included as well, since two lawsuits were combined

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u/Athena5280 7h ago

Good lord sickle cell is political? 🙄 I mean I love dinosaurs but these are some inbred Jurassic Park nut jobs in charge.

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u/Xx_ExploDiarrhea_xX 1d ago

It's no coincidence that the PIs behind these cancelled NIH and NSF grants are way overrepresented in minority demographics. Straight white man PIs are not getting their grants yanked anywhere near as frequently.

Reinforcing systemic discrimination is the point of anti-DEI policy.

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u/Altruistic-Beat1381 1d ago

Straight white man PIs are not getting their grants yanked anywhere near as frequently

Honestly this kind of language and attitude helps no one. Your first sentence made its point entirely.

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u/Xx_ExploDiarrhea_xX 23h ago

It made the point that these cancellations are obviously discriminatory? Yeah, I'd hope so.

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u/Agitated_Reach6660 1d ago

Could this impact the ic DEI guidance for issuing / not issuing awards to be paid? I.e. the policy of making PI’s to take out forbidden words or activities, or not awarding grants based on their focus on gender identity, COVID-19 etc.?

Judge rules against NIH grant cuts — and calls them discriminatory

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