A U.S. judge issued a nationwide injunction against the Trump administration’s steep cuts to federal grant funding for research, particularly the capping of indirect rates at 15%. The decision came after 22 Democratic state attorneys general, medical associations, and universities argued that NIH’s planned cuts were unlawful. The cuts would have led to layoffs, lab closures, and a reduction in scientific and medical studies.
The judge ruled that the NIH’s sweeping cuts violated the law due to language in funding legislation since 2018, which restricted NIH’s ability to reduce rates across the board. This restriction was implemented after Trump’s 2017 proposal to cap the indirect rate at 10%. The judge noted that the 15% cap not only broke the law but also failed to meet regulatory requirements and was insufficiently justified by the Trump administration.
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