North Carolina is among the states suing the Trump administration over a plan scientists say would threaten America’s standing as a world leader in innovation.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina and several other states won a temporary restraining order blocking President Donald Trump’s plan to cut medical research funding.
Attorney General Jeff Jackson says Trump’s plan would cost North Carolina schools hundreds of millions of dollars per year. The Trump administration hasn’t yet responded to the judge’s ruling.
“This attempt to slash funding for research awards that have already been granted violates the law and would cost North Carolina’s public universities hundreds of millions of dollars every year going forward,” Jackson said in a press release.
Nearly two dozen states are part of the lawsuit, which aims to block the National Insitutes of Health‘s surprise slashing of billions in medical research, calling it a “devastating” blow.
“If you’ve ever wished for a cure, for better treatment options for yourself or a loved one, this should feel personal,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.
The NIH, the largest funder of biomedical research, said it was cutting what are called “indirect costs” for research institutions that receive its grants – such things as support staff, hazardous waste disposal and the electricity needed to operate sophisticated machinery.
What the Trump administration’s announcement dismissed as “overhead” that would cut $4 billion a year is what the government and scientific organizations that have relied on it for decades say is key to doing research. Depending on the size of the research institution and the complexity of its work, some places receive 50% or more of the amount of any NIH research grant to put toward those costs – but the new order would cap that at 15%.
As an example of the impact, Monday’s lawsuit said the University of Washington’s medical school in Seattle could lose $90 million to $110 million in funding – and that might mean having to scale back ongoing clinical trials involving a list of diseases from Alzheimer’s to childhood cancer.
The states’ lawsuit said implementing the 15% cap would “mean the abrupt loss of hundreds of millions of dollars that are already committed to employing tens of thousands of researchers and other workers, putting a halt to countless life-saving health research and cutting-edge technology initiatives.”
A Republican lawmaker spoke out, too. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the cuts arbitrary and a “poorly conceived directive.” In a statement, she said she called Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nominee for health secretary who would oversee agencies including NIH, who promised that if confirmed he’d reexamine the measure.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
