Overview

• Twenty-one Democratic states and Washington, D.C. filed suit June 24 in Boston federal court to block the administration’s termination of billions in grant awards under a 2020 OMB regulation.
• The contested rule permits agencies to end grants that no longer ‘effectuate program goals or agency priorities,’ a provision the administration has applied to diversity, equity, inclusion and climate preparedness projects.
• Plaintiffs argue that rescinding funds based solely on revised priorities unlawfully circumvents Congress’s exclusive authority to allocate federal appropriations.
• A Boston judge last week voided the NIH’s cancellation of hundreds of diversity-related research grants, marking the coalition’s first major legal victory in these disputes.
• The Department of Government Efficiency, established under Trump and overseen by Elon Musk appointees, has been instrumental in coordinating the administration’s wider effort to reduce federal spending.