NJ joins suit against Trump over cuts to medical research
By: Scott Fallon
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... New Jersey and 21 other states sued the Trump administration Monday [02/10/2025] for cutting funding that supports medical research, a move that they argue will grind such public health research to a halt at universities across the U.S.
.....
The Trump administration has said the proposed cuts would target administrative overhead while leaving direct funds to medial research intact.
..... It is the latest lawsuit by Democratic attorneys general designed to stop the Republican administration from enacting large-scale cuts to the federal government that they argue must be approved by Congress.
..... The lawsuit was prompted by the National Institutes of Health's announcement on Friday [02/07/2025] that it would lower the maximum "indirect cost" reimbursement to 15%.
..... Of the $35 billion that went to research last year, [2024] $9 billion was issued for indirect costs, the NIH said Friday, [02/07/2025]
the agency said.
..... In response to the suit by New Jersey and other states, a federal judge in Massachusetts granted a request for a temporary restraining order halting the NIH funding cuts., The Hill reported. The judge gave the NIH until Friday [02/14/2025] to file an opposition to the motion.
..... Conservatives have said the NIH directive would cut down on unnecessary costs that should be paid for by universities and other institutions themselves. the lawsuit says it funds essential lab, infrastructure and utility costs along with clerical, IT and other staff, allowing researchers to advance their work.
..... "Our universities, labs and research institutions have fought COVID-19, cancer and many more issues of public interest, but now they have to fight the cruelty and shortsightedness of President Trump and his political appointees," said New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin.
.....
Among the institutions that would be affected is Rutgers University, which could lose as much as $21 million by June 30. [2025]
..... The school received about $250 million last year [2024] from the NIH to fund 1,200 projects. Rutgers had negotiated a rate of 57% for indirect costs for campus research. Using a 15% rate would eliminate $21.6 million for this fiscal year [2025] and $57.5 million by June 30, 2026, the lawsuit said.
..... New Jersey institutions receive a total of more than $405 million in NIH grants last year. [2024] They include:
* Rutgers University, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Rutgers Cancer Institute.
* Rowan University and its School of Osteopathic Medicine.
* The college of New Jersey
* Montclair State University
* New Jersey Institute of Technology
* Princeton University
* RWJBarnabas Health
..... The other states filing the lawsuit are Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.