NIH freeze jeopardizes critical scientific research
The Trump administration’s suspension of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and research activities threatens to derail lifesaving scientific progress and undercut America’s global competitiveness, Maryland lawmakers warn.
Charles R. Davis reports for Salon.
In short:
- The NIH, with a $47 billion budget, has halted research grant reviews and hiring under the Trump administration’s new restrictions, alarming scientists.
- Experts warn these delays could derail university research, hinder PhD admissions and disrupt institutions’ planning for critical medical and scientific studies.
- Conservatives, opposing research into climate change and gender issues, are pushing to replace NIH’s research funding with state block grants under a proposed far-right policy agenda.
Key quote:
"NIH attracts our nation's brightest scientists, physicians, health care providers, and other experts but, with these crippling blows to its mission and without sufficient staff going forward, NIH will be unable to realize its vital mission."
— Maryland lawmakers letter to HHS
Why this matters:
Conservative groups are using this pause to push a broader agenda aligned with Project 2025: replacing federal research funding with state block grants, a move critics say would gut studies on climate change, gender and other contentious issues. The stakes are high, with universities bracing for chaos in PhD programs and research teams scrambling to salvage their work.
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