The judge ruled in response to a lawsuit from 22 state attorneys general that says the NIH cuts are unlawful.
A federal judge issued a nationwide injunction on March 5, blocking the Trump administration from instituting funding cuts for administrative costs associated with research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley’s ruling follows a request from 22 Democratic state attorneys general and groups representing universities and medical schools who argued the NIH funding cuts were unlawful and would lead to layoffs, lab closures, and disruption in scientific and medical research.
On Feb. 7, the NIH decreased the maximum indirect cost rate research institutions can charge the government to 15 percent, a drop from a previous average of 27–28 percent.
“The average indirect cost rate reported by NIH has averaged between 27 percent and 28 percent over time. And many organizations are much higher—charging indirect rates of over 50 percent and in some cases over 60 percent,” the NIH stated in a Feb. 7 post on the social platform X, adding that $9 billion of the $35 billion granted for research “was used for administrative overhead, what is known as ‘indirect costs.’”
On Feb. 10, Kelley temporarily blocked the NIH from carrying out the cuts until she could consider arguments in the lawsuit. While considering whether to order a longer-term injunction, she extended that order.
President Donald Trump has instituted a broad range of federal funding cuts since retaking office in January, including efforts to downsize the federal workforce, decrease federal spending, and dismantle certain agencies entirely.
After the NIH announced on Feb. 7 that it would sharply lower the rate for reimbursing institutions for “indirect costs,” which relate to a research project’s goals and its personnel, service contracts, equipment, and infrastructure, the states and groups filed their lawsuit.
“The effects of the Rate Change Notice will be immediate and devastating,” the lawsuit stated, referring to the Trump administration’s actions. “This agency action will result in layoffs, suspension of clinical trials, disruption of ongoing research programs, and laboratory closures.”
By Jacob Burg
