The Trump administration’s efforts to slash research overhead costs have been put on hold for now.
A federal judge ordered a nationwide pause late Monday to the Trump administration’s plans to slash National Institutes of Health payments for facilities and administrative costs.
The restraining order was granted in response to a lawsuit filed by the Association of American Medical Colleges in the Massachusetts District Court. A court hearing is due to take place Feb. 21.
The nationwide halt expands a pause granted earlier Monday that applied to 22 states whose attorneys general also sued NIH. The Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, and a group of 13 universities and colleges filed a separate lawsuit this week seeking a nationwide pause.
The lawsuits were filed in response to an NIH announcement last Friday that the agency would be drastically cutting the payments it makes to institutions to cover their indirect research costs starting Monday, Feb. 10. The plaintiffs claim the agency’s actions are illegal and violate the Administrative Procedure Act. MORE