‘Unrecognizable and highly toxic': NIH staffers speak out ahead of Senate hearing on budget cuts
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The uncertainty over her future and the future of US scientific research led her and 341 other NIH workers to send a letter to NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya Monday morning urging him to stop politicizing research and to restore grants that were cut or delayed for ideological reasons.
'[W]e dissent to Administration policies that undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe,' said the letter, which was addressed to Bhattacharya, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and members of Congress who oversee the NIH.
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The letter was timed to Bhattacharya's Tuesday morning testimony before the Senate Committee on Appropriations, which will take up the President's Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the NIH. The request calls for a major restructuring of the agency, including a roughly 40 percent cut to the NIH budget.
'This restructuring will create efficiencies within NIH that will allow the agency to focus on true science and coordinate research to make the best use of federal funds,' according to a recently released summary of President Trump's
Since Jan. 20, the NIH has terminated more than $3.7 billion in grants across all US states and DC, according to
Some of the grants were cut because they allegedly violated Trump executive orders barring funding for research related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and
'My workplace has become unrecognizable and highly toxic,' said one NIH program officer who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation from the Trump administration.
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After months of telling herself that things would get better and to hunker down and mitigate harms from the inside, the NIH program officer said she's had enough.
'I feel like I've reached my personal limit for the duck and cover approach,' she said. 'I just don't think we're able to effectively uphold the science anymore.'
Multiple times a week, she and other program officers are asked by the grants office to review grants that have been flagged to make sure they're in compliance with Trump executive orders and new 'agency priorities,' she said.
'I get a list of grants and they ask, 'Should we terminate this? Is it DEI or related to a gender identity of vaccine hesitancy?' If I say 'No, it's not,' they come back, 'Well, why did it get flagged, then?' It seems like they're not even taking our scientific assessment at face value.'
Around a quarter of the two dozen active grants she shepherds have been flagged, terminated, or ordered to be revised, she said.
'I have grants that are meritorious but can't be funded because they had the word 'vaccine' in them, or it is from Northwestern or another university we can't give money to,' she said.
A job she once enjoyed has become soul crushing, she said.
'I can find another job, but I don't have another soul,' she said. 'If I don't speak up, I can't live with myself. I just can't.'
The NIH workers modeled their letter, which they call the 'Bethesda Declaration,' on Bhattacharya's "
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'Academic freedom is a core scientific principle, and we deeply appreciate your public commitment to it,' they wrote. The letter continued, 'We hope you will welcome this dissent.'
Ninety-two workers signed their names to the letter and the rest signed anonymously. The signatories speak for 'countless others at NIH who share our concerns but who—due to a culture of fear and suppression created by this Administration—chose not to sign their names for fear of retaliation,' according to the letter.
In parallel to the Bethesda Declaration, the group Stand Up for Science Monday morning circulated
Friedman said she and her colleagues are fearful of losing their jobs for speaking out but decided the risk was worthwhile.
'I'm terrified, but I really want to have a career in medical research, and I think if no one does anything, we won't have much medical research in this country,' she said. 'If I get a PhD and then there's nothing else for me to do with this knowledge that I've acquired, then what's the point?'
Anna Kuchment can be reached at
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May's Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed inflation pressures eased on a monthly basis despite investor concerns that President Trump's tariffs would accelerate the pace of price increases. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.1% on a monthly basis in May and 2.4% on an annual basis, a slight uptick from April's 2.3% gain. Yahoo Finance's Allie Canal reports: Read more here. I would keep an eye on consumer names off the news of a trade deal with China floated by President Trump this morning (see our prior post below). Seeing upticks premarket in heavily China-exposed retailers such as Nike (NKE), Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF). The premarket gains here aren't mind-blowing in part because tariffs appear to still be in place. Trump posted on Truth Social: OUR DEAL WITH CHINA IS DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME. FULL MAGNETS, AND ANY NECESSARY RARE EARTHS, WILL BE SUPPLIED, UP FRONT, BY CHINA. LIKEWISE, WE WILL PROVIDE TO CHINA WHAT WAS AGREED TO, INCLUDING CHINESE STUDENTS USING OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH ME!). WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!" A variety of market observers quickly weighed in hours after Tuesday evening's unveiling to suggest that the deal may not have a lot of meat on the bones — but at least relations are no longer moving in the wrong direction. The talks perhaps underscored how unlikely a comprehensive trade deal is anytime soon, noted AGF Investments Greg Valliere, "but at least relations may not worsen as talks continue throughout the summer." Both sides promised additional talks in the weeks or months ahead, but none have yet been scheduled. Veronique de Rugy, a professor at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, suggested the talks continued to show China's leverage. "China is hurting, yes—but they still hold the upper hand on critical resources, and they know how to use them." Any lessening of tensions — and freer flow — of these mineral resources in China would be a significant boost to the global economy with China holding outsized leverage in both the reserves and processing capacity of these key building blocks for everything from computers to electric vehicle batteries to medical devices. Likewise, the US offering concessions on export controls would be a significant move after years where successive US administrations have wielded these controls — especially around the design and manufacture of semiconductors — by saying they need to be tight on China for national security reasons. Read more here. May's Consumer Price Index (CPI) report will be released on Wednesday and its expected to show that prices rose a bit faster than in April. Yahoo Finance's Allie Canal breaks down what to look out for and how President Trump's tariffs are impacting what consumers are now paying for goods and services. Read more here. Now that the US-China trade truce is back on track, both sides are keen to ensure it stays that way. China's Vice Premier He Lifeng said both sides need to now 'show the spirit of good faith in abiding by their commitments and jointly safeguard the hard-won results of the dialogue.' Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. Despite the US-China trade truce resuming the pain from President Trump's tariffs remains in China, especially among small exporters. Reuters reports: Read more here. Japan warned Wednesday that tariffs threaten its economic growth, the government said in a monthly report. Reuters reports: Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. A federal appeals could said on Tuesday that President Trump's sweeping tariffs can continue for now. This is a significant win for Trump, who introduced tariffs back in March and declared "Liberation Day," as he saw them as a way to free the US from what he called unfair trade practices. Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. Early summer sales for Inditex, the owner of fashion retailer Zara, came in weaker, as the company missed expectations for first quarter sales on Wednesday. President Trump's tariffs have impacted consumer demand in the US and other major markets. Reuters reports: Read more here. After weeks of back and forth, the US and China have agreed on a framework to implement the Geneva consensus that helped ease tariffs. The breakthrough came after two days of talks in London, including a marathon session on Tuesday. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said both sides had to "get the negativity out" before making progress. 'Now we can go forward to try to do positive trade, growing trade,' he said. As part of the deal, Beijing has promised to speed up shipments of rare earth metals, a crucial component for global auto and defense industries. Washington will ease export controls. This marks the first sign of movement on key issues. The proposal will now be presented to President Trump and China's Xi. Still, the discussions also did little to resolve a long-standing issue: China's trade surplus with the US. 'Markets will likely welcome the shift from confrontation to coordination,' said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets. 'We're not out of the woods yet — it's up to Trump and Xi to approve and enforce the deal.' The meeting was set up after a phone call between the two leaders, following weeks of each side accusing the other of breaking the Geneva commitments. Both countries had used chips, rare earths, student visas and ethane as bargaining tools. Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor at East China Normal University, said trust, not money, has been the biggest casualty of the trade war. 'We've heard a lot about frameworks,' he said. 'But the fundamental issue remains: Chips versus rare earths. Everything else is a peacock dance.' Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Sign in to access your portfolio
