(The Center Square) – Federal courts have ruled the Trump administration is not allowed to cut billions in funding to public health research at universities and research institutions nationally.
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision this week, thereby protecting the more than $200 million in funding that Michigan’s universities and colleges receive for research.
“The Trump administration repeatedly has shown that they will illegally slash funding at the expense of Michiganders, even when that funding supports lifesaving research,” Nessel said.”I will continue to protect Michigan families, universities, and research institutions from these unlawful and harmful federal actions.”
This is just the latest win for Democrats in the courts against the Trump administration.
Since President Donald Trump took office, Nessel has regularly joined other attorney generals in taking numerous legal actions against the Trump administration and its policies. In total, she has joined or filed over 40 different lawsuits.
“I am relieved that courts have time and again stepped in to restore these funds and uphold the rule of law,” Nessel said.
This funding was administered by the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health. In February, the NIH announced it would slash indirect cost rates to an across-the-board 15% rate effective immediately.
Historically, that rate is negotiated directly between the institution seeking the funding and the federal government. Whatever rate is decided on, which averages around 28%, the federal government then pays that to the institution to help subsidize the utility or other administrative costs of its research.
By capping it at 15%, that effectively cut billions from research institutions’ funding nationally. In Michigan, that included over $200 million in funding cuts to the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.
The NIH argued that the 15% was more comparable to the indirect cost rates generally paid by private research foundations.
It stated in its new guidance that that change ensures “as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research rather than administrative overhead.” Adding that the 15% standard indirect cost rate “will allow grant recipients a reasonable and realistic recovery of indirect costs.”
Just days after the policy change was issued, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Association of American Universities, and a coalition of 22 state attorneys general all filed lawsuits against the policy change. Nessel was part of that coalition.
That led to a judge in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts issuing a temporary restraining order just six hours after the lawsuit was filed. That was followed by a permanent injunction, which the Trump administration appealed. It has now lost that appeal.
