Carson City, NV – Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford and 21 other attorneys general sued the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for unlawfully cutting funds that support cutting-edge medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country, including at Nevada institutions such as UNLV and UNR. This afternoon, Massachusetts District Court Judge Angel Kelley granted the plaintiff states’ emergency motion for a temporary restraining order.

“The Trump Administration has unlawfully attempted to cut funds to medical services and research, including approximately $50 million to UNR, UNLV and NSU,” said AG Ford. “This action directly contradicts federal law and is an illegal extension of executive power, and as I have said previously, when President Trump violates the law, I will meet him in court.”

Indirect cost reimbursements are based on each institution’s unique needs, negotiated with the federal government through a carefully regulated process, and then memorialized in an executed agreement. The Trump administration purports to toss those agreements aside, putting public health and medical advancements at risk. The coalition’s lawsuit seeks to prevent that reckless and illegal conduct.

On Friday, February 7, the NIH announced it would abruptly slash indirect cost rates to an across-the-board 15% rate, which is significantly less than the cost required to perform cutting edge medical research. The NIH purported to make this cut effective the very next business day — Monday, February 10 — giving universities and institutions no time to plan for the enormous budget gaps they are now facing. Without immediate relief, this action could result in the suspension of lifesaving and life-extending clinical trials, disruption of research programs, layoffs and laboratory closures.

The coalition argues that this action violates the Administrative Procedure Act, including a directive Congress passed during President Trump’s first term to fend off his earlier proposal to drastically cut research reimbursements. That statutory language, still in effect, prohibits the NIH from requiring categorial and indiscriminate changes to indirect cost reimbursements. The coalition is seeking a court order barring the Trump Administration and NIH from implementing the action.

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.

Joining AG Ford in this lawsuit are the co-lead states of Massachusetts, Illinois and Michigan, as well as the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

Review the court order.

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