State attorneys general sued the federal government for allegedly delaying funding for approved National Institutes of Health grants.
More than a dozen Democratic attorneys general spanning Rhode Island to California contend the Health and Human Services Department, the NIH and other agencies have systematically hindered funding by putting off final decisions on approved grants, terminating ongoing grants and postponing reviews of pending grants. The funding roadblocks have cut off billions of dollars in grant revenue and jeopardized healthcare research, the lawsuit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts alleges.
Related: Federal judge blocks NIH funding cuts
State officials asked the court to force President Donald Trump’s administration to promptly review and issue decisions on delayed grant applications and prohibit agencies from terminating already-awarded grants.
The Health and Human Services Department and National Institutes of Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In the complaint, attorneys general allege the NIH has recently cut off funding for large swaths of ongoing grants based on the projects’ perceived connection to diversity, equity and inclusion, transgender issues, vaccine hesitancy and other topics the administration has targeted. The AGs said grant recipients received letters from the NIH stating that each canceled project “no longer effectuates agency priorities."
The lawsuit also alleges that the grant terminations and application review delays violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the constitutional separation of powers.
State officials are pursuing other legal challenges to restore grant funding.
In February, attorneys general, medical schools and universities sued to block the National Institutes of Health’s cap on the indirect cost payment rate for new and existing grants. A federal judge blocked those cuts via a nationwide preliminary injunction that will remain in place until the case is resolved.
