Trump is playing a deadly game with cuts to medical research
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The Trump administration's new policy capping the amount of money the National Institutes of Health gives research institutions for the "indirect costs" of running labs is endangering researchers’ ability to find cures for a host of devastating diseases and will grind biomedical research in the United States to a halt, according to a new lawsuit filed on Monday by 22 Democratic attorneys general. The lawsuit alleges that the NIH's new rule—which caps the indirect cost reimbursement rate at 15%—violates a law passed by Congress that banned the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services from changing those reimbursement rates. "Without relief from NIH’s action, these institutions’ cutting edge work to cure and treat human disease will grind to a halt,” the lawsuit argues. That “will directly impact the well-being of the Plaintiff states’ citizens, who are the beneficiaries of research creating treatments, such as modern gene editing, vaccines such as flu vaccines, and cures for diseases like cancer, infectious diseases, and addiction.” Capping the indirect cost reimbursement rate is the latest Trump administration move to try to trim the federal budget, an initiative that’s been led by co-President Elon Musk—the multibillionaire whose companies ironically receive billions in federal funding. While only Democratic attorneys general filed the lawsuit, the slashing of indirect cost reimbursement rates will hurt major research institutions in every state—no matter how they voted in the 2024 election. That’s why even Republicans are warning about the harm the new rule will cause, though they refused to assign blame to Trump and are bizarrely saying they believe yet-to-be-confirmed HHS nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who has railed against science and vaccines and pharmaceuticals—will reverse it. Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama told AL.com that the broad new rule will have devastating impacts on two major research universities in her state—the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. “While the administration works to achieve this goal at NIH, a smart, targeted approach is needed in order to not hinder life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions like those in Alabama,” Britt said. Maine Sen. Susan Collins is also concerned, calling the indirect cost cap a “poorly conceived directive” that would lead to the end of “vital biomedical research” and “the loss of jobs.” But the Republican is also placing her trust in Kennedy to fix the issue, showing she's clearly learned nothing about how the Trump administration operates. "He has promised that as soon as he is confirmed, he will re-examine this initiative that was implemented prior to his confirmation," Collins said in a statement. Democrats, for their part, also slammed the new Trump administration rule. “Once again, President Trump and Elon Musk are acting in direct violation of the law,” said House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro. “In this case, they are causing irreparable damage to ongoing research to develop cures and treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, ALS, Diabetes, Mental Health disorders, opioid abuse, genetic diseases, rare diseases, and other diseases and conditions affecting American families,” she said in a statement. “The Trump Administration is attempting to steal critical funds promised to scientific research institutions funded by the NIH, despite an explicit legal prohibition against this action.” Republicans have yet to push back against Trump’s cuts. Maybe screwing over cancer patients and others suffering from rare diseases will spur them into action. But don’t hold your breath. Thank you to the Daily Kos community who continues to fight so hard with Daily Kos. Your reader support means everything. We will continue to have you covered and keep you informed, so please donate just $3 to help support the work we do.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/10/2302816/-Trump-is-playing-a-deadly-game-with-cuts-to-medical-research?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main
The Trump administration's new policy capping the amount of money the National Institutes of Health gives research institutions for the "indirect costs" of running labs is endangering researchers’ ability to find cures for a host of devastating diseases and will grind biomedical research in the United States to a halt, according to a new lawsuit filed on Monday by 22 Democratic attorneys general. The lawsuit alleges that the NIH's new rule—which caps the indirect cost reimbursement rate at 15%—violates a law passed by Congress that banned the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services from changing those reimbursement rates. "Without relief from NIH’s action, these institutions’ cutting edge work to cure and treat human disease will grind to a halt,” the lawsuit argues. That “will directly impact the well-being of the Plaintiff states’ citizens, who are the beneficiaries of research creating treatments, such as modern gene editing, vaccines such as flu vaccines, and cures for diseases like cancer, infectious diseases, and addiction.” Capping the indirect cost reimbursement rate is the latest Trump administration move to try to trim the federal budget, an initiative that’s been led by co-President Elon Musk—the multibillionaire whose companies ironically receive billions in federal funding. While only Democratic attorneys general filed the lawsuit, the slashing of indirect cost reimbursement rates will hurt major research institutions in every state—no matter how they voted in the 2024 election. That’s why even Republicans are warning about the harm the new rule will cause, though they refused to assign blame to Trump and are bizarrely saying they believe yet-to-be-confirmed HHS nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who has railed against science and vaccines and pharmaceuticals—will reverse it. Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama told AL.com that the broad new rule will have devastating impacts on two major research universities in her state—the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. “While the administration works to achieve this goal at NIH, a smart, targeted approach is needed in order to not hinder life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions like those in Alabama,” Britt said. Maine Sen. Susan Collins is also concerned, calling the indirect cost cap a “poorly conceived directive” that would lead to the end of “vital biomedical research” and “the loss of jobs.” But the Republican is also placing her trust in Kennedy to fix the issue, showing she's clearly learned nothing about how the Trump administration operates. "He has promised that as soon as he is confirmed, he will re-examine this initiative that was implemented prior to his confirmation," Collins said in a statement. Democrats, for their part, also slammed the new Trump administration rule. “Once again, President Trump and Elon Musk are acting in direct violation of the law,” said House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro. “In this case, they are causing irreparable damage to ongoing research to develop cures and treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, ALS, Diabetes, Mental Health disorders, opioid abuse, genetic diseases, rare diseases, and other diseases and conditions affecting American families,” she said in a statement. “The Trump Administration is attempting to steal critical funds promised to scientific research institutions funded by the NIH, despite an explicit legal prohibition against this action.” Republicans have yet to push back against Trump’s cuts. Maybe screwing over cancer patients and others suffering from rare diseases will spur them into action. But don’t hold your breath. Thank you to the Daily Kos community who continues to fight so hard with Daily Kos. Your reader support means everything. We will continue to have you covered and keep you informed, so please donate just $3 to help support the work we do.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/10/2302816/-Trump-is-playing-a-deadly-game-with-cuts-to-medical-research?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main