The cuts to the National Institute for Health triggered a number of lawsuits
A Nature analysis of the lawsuits filed against the National Institute for Human Genetics (NIH) over the cancellation of NIH grants in the context of the 2016 Israel-Israel War in Gaza
The NIH does have a policy for cancelling grants that have already been awarded, but in the past cancellations were rare and were usually spurred by concerns about fraud or imminent harm to the public, Lurie says. The lawsuits contend that the rash of cancellation did not follow the agency’s own regulations. Within a reasonable time, each agency should be able to conclude the matter presented to them. The complaint claims that the delays in processing grant applications are against the stipulations.
Here, Nature unravels the legal claims and sets out what is likely to happen next. Andrew Nixon told Nature that the department does not comment on pending litigation. The NIH and the White House did not respond to enquiries.
The Nature analysis shows that only a small amount of grants are related to the topic of HIV/AIDS and COVID-19. The focus of the cuts is in part due to the Trump administration stating that the COVID-19 epidemic is over in the United States. It is possible that Trump wants the US government to stop acknowledging the fact that a person’s gender can differ at birth, because HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects sexual and gender minorities.
Tilghman says that these actions deny a small percentage of the population answers to critically important questions about their health. You cannot eliminate a segment of the population, but you can harm them.
Trump’s team has targeted research grants at Columbia, cancelling $400 million to the university because, the administration has said, it failed to protect Jewish students from harassment during campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza.
On 10 February, various plaintiffs, including academic institutions, non-profit groups and 22 state attorneys — who act as a state’s legal representative — filed three separate suits over the indirect costs policy (see ‘Lawsuits against the NIH’). On 4 April, a federal judge who heard all three suits permanently blocked implementation of the cap. The NIH is now appealing that decision.
The US Department of Justice and other bodies are involved in a lawsuit regarding the cancellation of grants and funding at Columbia University.
On 4 April, 16 US states filed a similar suit over the termination of already-awarded grants. This complaint also covers the increased delays in reviewing new grant applications.
