NIH Revolts: Scientists Decry Budget Cuts, RFK Jr. Political Interference, Warn Of Long-Term Public Health Damage
Over 340 current and recently terminated U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) employees have publicly protested the Trump administration's deep cuts to the agency's research budget.
What Happened: Reuters noted that more than 60 NIH employees signed a letter, accusing NIH leadership — including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy — of allowing political interference to override scientific priorities.
The stakes are high, they noted, citing how patient safety is at risk and public resources are wasted.
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Signatories claim in the letter that the agency has eliminated 2,100 research grants worth $9.5 billion and cut another $2.6 billion in research contracts since Trump took office in January.
The letter, also addressed to NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and members of Congress, comes ahead of Bhattacharya's scheduled testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.
The letter states that the cuts have halted clinical trials and left patients without oversight for experimental treatments or implanted devices.
The employees told Reuters the terminated programs represented years of work and financial investment. They warned that the cuts were made without proper review, sometimes bypassing peer evaluations in favor of political motivations.Why It Matters: Bhattacharya said the letter mischaracterized NIH's recent policy directions.
Citing internal staff reports, Reuters highlighted that the Trump administration has proposed slashing NIH's budget by $18 billion next year. This would reduce it by 40% to $27 billion. Nearly 5,000 NIH employees and contractors have already been laid off under Kennedy's restructuring of U.S. health agencies.
In February, a complaint was filed arguing that 'Without relief from NIH's action, these institutions' cutting-edge work to cure and treat human disease will grind to a halt.'
The lawsuit also mentioned, 'In issuing the Rate Change Notice, the NIH has also acted beyond its statutory authority and has failed to promulgate the change using notice and comment rulemaking.'
In March, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) unveiled a sweeping restructuring plan to cut costs, streamline operations and refocus priorities.
The restructuring will reduce the HHS workforce by 10,000 full-time employees, leading to annual savings of $1.8 billion.
Through early retirements and other initiatives, the total number of employees will shrink from 82,000 to 62,000.
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