Trump slashed medical research grant funding. Now California & others are suing to restore it

Once again, a coalition of states, including California, is taking President Donald Trump to court — this time over Trump’s cuts on National Institutes of Health (NIH) spending for medical research.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, one of 22 attorneys general to file the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, said in a statement Monday that once again, Trump is violating the law.

“Let’s be clear about what they are seeking to do now: They want to eviscerate funding for medical research that helps develop new cures and treatments for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s,” Bonta said in a statement.

The California AG said the stakes are particularly high for the Golden State, which is “known as a national and global leader in life-saving biomedical research.”

In their complaint, which can be read here, the AGs argue that Trump’s order is “arbitrary and capricious,” and violates federal law as well as a directive from Congress during Trump’s first term, whose statutory language is still in effect.

Last Friday, the NIH announced that it was cutting indirect cost reimbursements at an across-the-board 15% rate. That cut is intended to go into effect Monday.

“The United States should have the best medical research in the world. It is accordingly vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead. NIH is accordingly imposing a standard indirect cost rate on all grants of 15%,” the Trump administration said in the Friday memo.

“NIH is obligated to carefully steward grant awards to ensure taxpayer dollars are used in ways that benefit the American people and improve their quality of life,” the memo read.

Trump’s cuts on reimbursements to research institutes around the country could have a devastating impact on the University of California and California State University systems.

The UC system alone has 21 health professional sciences schools, five National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers and six academic medical centers; the UC system in fiscal year 2023 received more than $2 billion in NIH contracts and grant funding and employs more than 200,000 people. The CSU, which received $158 million in NIH funds in the last audited year, is the largest public university system in the country.

“The NIH is the primary source of federal funding for medical research in the United States. Medical research funding by NIH grants have led to innumerable scientific breakthroughs, including the discovery of treatment for cancers of all types, the first sequencing of DNA, and the development of the MRI. Additionally, dozens of NIH-supported scientists have earned Nobel Prizes for their groundbreaking scientific work,” the statement from Bonta’s office reads.

UC President Michael Drake said in a statement that his system depends on NIH funds to perform its mission.

“A cut this size is nothing short of catastrophic for countless Americans who depend on UC’s scientific advances to save lives and improve healthcare,” Drake said. “This is not only an attack on science, but on America’s health writ large. We must stand up against this harmful, misguided action.”

CSU spokesperson Jason Maymon said in a statement that federal grant funding is vital to that university system’s teaching and research mission, and that “the NIH’s drastic reduction in reimbursement for previously agreed upon administrative costs will leave the CSU’s 23 universities with millions in unfunded expenses, jeopardizing critical research and support systems needed for program success.”