22 states sue to block Trump cuts to NIH research payments

Attorneys general in 22 states sued the top health agencies Monday, attempting to block the Trump administration’s plan to slash grant funding to universities and research institutions across the country.  

In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the attorneys general said the cuts to indirect research overhead “will devastate critical public health research at universities and research institutions in the United States.” 

Without relief, the lawsuit said, their “cutting-edge work to cure and treat human disease will grind to a halt.” 

Late Friday, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said it would set a 15 percent cap on payments for indirect costs — which are administrative and facility costs linked to research, like utilities and support staff.  

Scientists, universities and Democratic lawmakers raised immediate alarms. 

“Every American has benefited from NIH-supported medical research conducted at medical schools, academic health systems, and teaching hospitals nationwide. Every American will be harmed by the undermining of this long-standing partnership between academic institutions and the federal government,” Association of American Medical Colleges president David J. Skorton said in a joint statement with Chief Scientific Officer Elena Fuentes-Afflick. 

The NIH said $9 billion of the $35 billion in research grants distributed last year had gone to overhead. The move would save the government $4 billion a year, according to a post from NIH on the social platform X, but it's not clear if those savings would be passed on to increase direct research funding. 

The lawsuit asked for a temporary restraining order to pause the change, hours after it took effect on Monday morning. 

The attorneys general argue the change violates congressional appropriations law, which has prohibited NIH from altering indirect cost rates without proper authorization since 2018. 

"NIH’s extraordinary attempt to disrupt all existing and future grants not only poses an immediate threat to the nation’s research infrastructure, but will also have a long-lasting impact on its research capabilities and its ability to provide life-saving breakthroughs in scientific research," the attorneys general wrote.