NIH is again accelerated the financing of research at the challenge of a federal judgment ordinance – Mother Jones

Doctor and specialist in infectious diseases Matthew Memoli, now interim director of NIH, illustrated in 2014. Charles Dharapak/Ap

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National health institutes (Nih) still blocks the majority of scientific financing in progress of concerns about “diversity, equity and inclusion” (Dei), according to NIH sources and internal NIH correspondence. Freezing continued even after top officials of NIH recognized that the continuation of the blocking of financing would violate a federal court decision.

Last month, the Trump administration issued a MemoThrough the Management and Budget Office (OMB), which require federal agencies to “temporarily interrupt all activities related to the obligation or grant all federal financial assistance, including” subsidies and loans “. The purpose of freezing the expenses was to ensure compliance with the executive orders of President Trump who prohibits the financing for “Dei”, “gender ideology” and other topics.

The directive was quickly challenged in the federal court of a coalition consisting of 22 states. The Federal Court issued a Orders of temporary restriction (TR) on January 31, which “restricted and forbidden” the Trump administration “to re -edit, adopt, implement or give otherwise to the OMB Directive under any other name or title.”

A Memoir February 12th by two Top Nih officials, who were not launched publicly, but was obtained through popular information, acknowledged that TR banned the Agency to freeze the financing to implement Trump’s Executive Order. “We recognize that NIH programs are () recently issued the temporary restriction order,” officials wrote and, therefore, “subsidy administration personnel” can “continue with issuing prizes for all … subsidies”.

That didn’t happen.

Another memory Issued by the same officials on February 13, obtained through popular information through a NIH source, provided “additional guidance”. The memory of February 13 imposed “hard restrictions on prizes … in which the program promotes or participates in initiatives (DEI).”

The restrictions apply to “new prizes and continuation made on or after February 14, 2025.” The freezing will “remain in force until the agency makes a review” to determine whether “financing the activities/programs are … in accordance with the priorities of the current policy”.

According to another NIH source, the agency has performed a keyword search to identify “Dei” subsidies. All financing for these subsidies have been frozen. Internally, NIH staff believes that these subsidies can be completely canceled, the source told popular information. Further, in some of the NIH institutions and centers, according to the internal NIH correspondence revised by the popular information, all Subsidies have been frozen waiting for the creation of an anti-dent language that can be added to applications. So far, the language has not been offered to the management staff.

The freezing has affected the financing of most continuous subsidies at NIH. These subsidies finance in progress, including many studies involving human subjects in clinical trials. As Congress offers annual funding, these subsidies must be extended every year, but it is normally a routine administrative process.

The freezing of this financing for the implementation of the administration policies does not comply with the federal court. It also endangers critical research on cancer treatments, prevention of heart disease, intervention of stroke and other topics that can save life.

David Moorman, a brain researcher and professor at the University of Massachusetts-amherst, did not renew his annual subsidy. Now he is late for three weeks. “At one point, our money will end and, if they are not renewed, we will have to start dismissing people in my laboratory and this research will die”, ” Moorman said Boston Globe.

Between February 1 – February 12 there was a total freezing when issuing continuous subsidies, according to publicly reported data. After issuing the memory on February 12, some continuous subsidies were financed. Between February 13, 2025 and February 22, 2025, 335 continuous subsidies with a total value of 200.235.780 USD were issued. However, data shows that most continuous subsidies are still blocked. In the same nine days of 2024, 823 subsidies with a total value of 484,709,831 were issued.

Financing for continuous subsidies administered by the National Cancer Institute decreased from $ 162 million between February 1, 2024 and February 22, 2024, to $ 27 million in the same period of this year.