States Sue Trump Administration Over Canceled Research Grants

The Trump administration was sued by a group of Democrat-led states that claim the federal government is illegally canceling research grants that fund what they describe as critical medical and scientific advancements.

Since President Donald Trump took office, the National Institutes of Health has been walking back vital grants and scrapping meetings required to get new approvals, citing concerns around diversity, “transgender issues” and “vaccine hesitancy,” the states said in a suit filed Friday in Boston federal court.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, who is leading the group, said state institutions are already suffering “significant harm” from the cancellations.

“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,” Campbell said in a statement. “I won’t allow the Trump administration to take unlawful actions that play politics with our public health.”

A spokesperson for NIH said the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

The case adds to more than 190 lawsuits challenging Trump’s policies, many of which seek to stretch the limits of presidential power by canceling federal funding that has already been approved by Congress.

Many of Trump’s directives have been driven by his concerns around diversity initiatives. On Thursday, a judge in a different case blocked US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from slashing $11 billion in funding for the agency.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that NIH has terminated more than $4.5 million in research grants for the State University of New York for projects on Alzheimer’s disease and health issues related to the LGBTQ community.

The case is Massachusetts v. Kennedy Jr., 25-cv-10787, US District Court, District of Massachusetts (Boston).

To contact the reporter on this story:
Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net

Steve Stroth, Elizabeth Wasserman

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