(Washington State) Attorney General Nick Brown and 21 other attorneys general today sued the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for unlawfully cutting funds that support cutting-edge medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country.
The coalition is challenging the Trump Administration’s Friday, Feb. 7, announcement to unilaterally cut “indirect cost” reimbursements at every research institution around the country to 15 percent. Indirect cost reimbursements, on which institutions rely, cover expenses that facilitate biomedical research, like labs, faculty, infrastructure, and utility costs. Without them, lifesaving and life-changing medical research in which Washington state has long been a leader, could be compromised, putting public health and medical advancements at risk. The coalition’s lawsuit seeks to prevent that reckless and illegal conduct.
The suit argues that Trump’s order violates the Administrative Procedure Act by ignoring the profound harms the cuts cause to research institutions as well as the directive Congress passed during President Trump’s first term to fend off his earlier proposal to drastically cut research reimbursements. That law, still in effect, prohibits the NIH from requiring categorial and indiscriminate changes to indirect cost reimbursements. The coalition is seeking a court order barring the Trump Administration and NIH from implementing the action.
The lawsuit was filed today in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts and can be found here.
“President Trump is trying to do the same thing he tried during his first term and the Administration must know it is illegal,” said Brown. “NIH provides lifesaving medical, agricultural, and public health research the people of Washington depend on. This attempt to curtail scientific research could have long-lasting impacts for generations to come.”
“Washington is a leader in cutting-edge scientific research. If the Trump Administration’s unlawful action is allowed to go forward, it would be disastrous for the important work happening at our research institutions,” said Washington state Governor Bob Ferguson. “I will work with our Attorney General and experts at our universities to ensure these dollars are protected from unlawful federal overreach.”
Most NIH-funded research occurs outside of federal government institutions, including at public and private universities and colleges in Washington state. The money goes to fund critical and time-sensitive research into life-saving medicine (such as cures for cancer), as well as numerous treatments and therapies for a wide array of medical, physiological, and public health issues. The money funds animal laboratories that are instrumental for research into human and animal health alike. It funds clinical trials for treatments of Alzheimer’s, diabetes, pediatric cancer, kidney cancer, and many other life-threatening diseases. It also goes into the facilities that are critical for monitoring and detecting emerging health threats, such as avian influenza, that present imminent danger to Washington’s agricultural and public health.
This lawsuit is being co-led by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Illinois, and Michigan. Joining this coalition are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
