A group of Democratic attorneys general is suing the Trump administration after it canceled millions of dollars in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants.
Last month, the Trump administration began canceling the grants, claiming they were spent on liberal projects like studies on transgender healthcare, vaccine hesitancy, and diversity research.
The new administration also suspended its grant approval process, arguing that the grants were no longer in line with the agency’s priorities.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by a coalition of 16 attorneys general, criticized Trump’s order, stating that the decision was “abrupt, unjustified, and illegal.”
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement:
“Massachusetts is the medical research capital of the country. Not only do our public research institutions rely on NIH funding for their groundbreaking research, job creation and academic competitiveness, but our residents depend on these studies to propel lifesaving medical advancements.
I won’t allow the Trump Administration to take unlawful actions that play politics with our public health.”
The lawsuit also accuses the administration of harming research facilities that are awaiting funding to conduct studies on treatments for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
The lawsuit was led by Campbell, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration laid off thousands of federal health workers, including several senior leaders and government scientists at the NIH.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been conducting firings as part of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to reshape the agency.
This effort aligns with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to reduce the department’s workforce from 82,000 to 62,000.
Anthony Fauci’s wife, Christine Grady, and Dr. Clifford Lane also lost their positions at NIH this week.
Grady headed the NIH Office of Bioethics, while Lane—a close associate of Fauci—oversaw clinical research at the department.
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