Overview

• A federal judge in Massachusetts permanently barred the Trump administration from capping indirect costs on NIH grants, restoring nearly $4 billion in funding to research institutions.
• The administration had sought to limit indirect costs to 15% of grant amounts, a significant reduction from the historical allowance of up to 50%.
• Over 900 NIH research grants, including those focused on LGBTQ+ health, DEI, and vaccine hesitancy, remain terminated, prompting multiple lawsuits from researchers and state attorneys general.
• A coalition of 16 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit on April 4, challenging the legality of the grant terminations and delays in NIH’s funding processes.
• The administration is expected to appeal the court's ruling, prolonging uncertainty for research institutions and ongoing biomedical studies.