Overview

• Researchers displayed posters in the Rayburn House Office Building lobby days after the new spending law codified thousands of grant cancellations
• President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” signed last week enshrined deep cuts across NIH, NSF and other research agencies, redirecting billions away from medical, climate and social science projects
• The administration’s FY26 budget request seeks further reductions at NIH and NSF and would eliminate programs on misinformation, gender-minority health and pandemic preparedness
• A federal judge has ordered reconsideration for roughly 900 NIH grants that were canceled without proper justification, offering a path to partial reinstatement
• Scientists warn that halted projects have led to student dismissals, disrupted careers and could fuel a brain drain as foreign governments recruit displaced U.S. researchers