NIH and Medical Research News

Jump down to recent developments, below.

Background:

• The National Institutes of Health is the primary federal agency responsible for biomedical and public health research in the United States. It is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

• Today NIH is the largest funder of biomedical research in the world.

• NIH consists of 27 institutes and centers, each focused on particular diseases, body systems, or research areas. The largest and most well-known include the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

• NIH’s core mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about living systems and apply that knowledge to enhance health and reduce illness. It pursues this through two main channels — intramural research conducted by NIH scientists on its Bethesda, MD campus, and extramural research through grants and contracts to universities, medical schools, and research institutions across the country and abroad. The vast majority of its budget, roughly 80-85%, goes to extramural grants.

• NIH’s annual budget is about $47 to 49 billion supporting around 300,000 researchers at over 2,500 institutions nationwide. Congress rejected the Trump Administration’s proposed 40 percent cut in NIH, however the Administration cut back new grants and competitive renewals in FY 2025. It remains to be seen whether they similarly hold back congressionally appropriated funds during FY 2026.

  • It is illegal for the President to impound—refuse to spend—congressionally appropriated funds. See our explanation HERE.

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Recent Developments:

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Fri, Sept 25, 2026:

• NIH funding cuts delayed a promising childhood brain cancer trial. Patients lost time they didn’t have. - CNBC

• Murray, Baldwin Lead Colleagues in Demanding Vought Abandon Any and All Plans to Exert Political Control Over NIH Funding - Sen. Approps

Wed, Sept 23, 2026:

• Murray on Trump Admin Scrapping Plans for Executive Order to Empower Russ Vought to Kill NIH Research - Senate Approps

• Trump administration backing off NIH grant order amid pushback - Semafor

• White House drops executive order for tighter NIH purview. Plan had drawn backlash from key Senate appropriators - Roll Call

Tues, Sept 22, 2026:

• Sen. Collins (R-ME) Warns Administration Not to Proceed with NIH Executive Order

Mon, Sept 21, 2026:

• Senator Murray (D-WA) on Trump’s Latest Plan to Politicize Lifesaving NIH Research

• What a Trump order to put political appointees in charge of NIH funding would mean for science. Advocates and scientists warn that giving political appointees power over research grants would “upend” U.S. science - Scientific American

Sun, Sept 20, 2026:

• White House Moves to Take Control of N.I.H. Grants. Federal officials are drafting an executive order that would place grants under review by an outside panel, the latest effort to redirect billions of dollars in research spending. - NYT

Fri, Sept 18, 2026:

• White House budget chief pushes for scrutiny of NIH grants in Oval Office clash. Russell Vought argued the agency has been funding “woke” priorities and suggested the president create a commission to review grants from the National Institutes of Health. - WP

Fri, Sept 4, 2026:

• Pentagon Agreement With N.I.H. on Biodefense Draws Alarm From Democrats. Under a new partnership, the Defense Department would play a larger role in biodefense and pandemic preparedness. Democrats warned it could allow a Pentagon cash grab. - NYT

Thurs, May 21, 2026:

• Collins pushes back on Trump’s plan to cut health research funding. The Maine Republican appropriator called a proposed cut of 10 percent to the National Institutes of Health’s budget “inexplicable.” - Politico

Wed, May 13, 2026:

• My Son Never Turned 7. Because of Choices in Washington, Others Won’t Either. - NYT

Sat, April 11, 2026:

• Trump is still trying to DOGE the NIH… The NIH has proven a difficult target for the White House budget director, because lawmakers have a symbiotic relationship with the agency. - Politico

Tues, March 17, 2026:

• NIH Director Claims Administration Will Spend Appropriated Funds: National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya promised a House Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday that, despite the sluggish pace of grant awards, the agency will spend its full budget by the end of the 2026 fiscal year. [However,] roughly halfway through the fiscal year, the agency has awarded 74% fewer competitive, or new, awards than the average for that same period during 2021-2024, according to an analysis by Johns Hopkins researchers. - Stat

Mon, Nov 17, 2025:

• Trump slashed spending on clinical trials. The toll is starting to become clear. Grants for 383 clinical trials were terminated and the funding disruptions affected more than 74,000 trial participants, according to new research. – WP

Thurs, Oct 16, 2025:

• Former NIH leaders lament ‘constant chaos’ at the agency, and caution it’s not over – Stat

Tues, Sept 16, 2025:

• Trump Is Shutting Down the War On Cancer. America’s cancer research system, which has helped save millions of lives, is under threat in one of its most productive moments. – NYT

Thurs, Aug 21, 2025:

• Supreme Court clears way for nearly $800 million in cuts to NIH grants. The ruling allows the Trump administration to slash research on health issues in minority, gay and transgender communities while legal battles play out over the funding. – WP

Tues, Aug 5, 2025:

• Budget maneuvers expected to reduce NIH funding opportunities. Front-loading of grant payments will limit number of awards – Roll Call

Wed, July 30, 2025:

• White House backtracks on NIH funding hold amid Hill uproar. Budget official released health-research cash after restricting the agency’s budget. – Politico

Fri, July 18, 2025:

• How Changes to Funding for the NIH and Changes in the FDA’s Review Times Would Affect the Development of New Drugs – CBO
  The Trump administration’s proposed cuts at the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration could lower the number of new drugs that come to market in the next three decades, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released Friday.

Wed, July 16, 2025:

• Trump officials halt ‘dangerous’ research, overriding NIH career scientists. The Trump administration’s actions on NIH gain-of-function research have raised concerns among scientists, who argue the move could block experiments that are safe and potentially lead to new treatments and medicines. – WP

Wed, June 25, 2025:

• N.I.H. Memo Pauses Cancellations of Medical Research Grants. The directive, in a memo issued Tuesday, came after two court rulings that questioned the Trump administration’s swift cuts to funding. – NYT

• Despite the NIH memo and court rulings in favor of scientists, it’s not clear whether researchers can quickly get back to work because the Trump administration is reportedly still deciding on its next steps. “Researchers haven’t yet been able to access funds covered by the ruling as part of the order, and the likelihood that the government will appeal or seek to halt the order leaves the outlook murky,” Axios reported yesterday. And if or when the funding flows again, scientists say that their work has already been affected, in some cases making it hard to salvage their studies. – FT

Tues, June 24, 2025:

• NIH grantees may face long waits for restored money – Axios

Mon, June 10, 2025:

• Hundreds of scientists and staffers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are publicly protesting Trump administration policies they say politicize science, threaten their work and “harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.”

  “Ending a $5 million research study when it is 80% complete does not save $1 million, it wastes $4 million,” they write. They add that the decisions risk people’s health: “NIH trials are being halted without regard to participant safety, abruptly stopping medications or leaving participants with unmonitored device implants.”

  The letter warns that the “unprecedented reduction in NIH spending” is not a move toward greater efficiency “but rather a dramatic reduction in life-saving research” and a violation of Bhattacharya’s duty to spend congressionally appropriated funds for NIH research.

Wed, May 28, 2025:

• Scientists made a breakthrough in the treatment of brain diseases. What they did: Created gene delivery systems, or “trucks,” which can target different cell types in the brain and spinal cord. It means treatments can reach specific cells. Why it matters: It may lead to new therapies for diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, if the project’s federal funding continues. – WP

Wed, April 16, 2025:

• Women, minorities fired in purge of NIH science review boards; Scientists, with expertise in fields that include mental health, cancer and infectious disease, typically serve five-year terms and were not given a reason for their dismissal. – WP

Mon, April 14, 2025:

• The cost of Trump and Kennedy’s cuts at NIH is already adding up; The cuts will crush U.S. leadership in biomedicine and put millions of American lives at risk. – Diana DeGette/Fred Upton

Mon, April 7, 2025:

• A big step forward in cancer therapy has been slowed by layoffs and new restrictions at the National Institutes of Health, where it was developed. – WP

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