22 State Attorneys General Sue to Block Trump Admin Cuts to NIH Research Payments

The cuts were ordered late last week by the federal health agency.

A sign that reads "NIH Employees Only" posted near an entrance at the National Institutes of Health headquarters in Bethesda, Md., on Feb. 10, 2025. Attorneys general from 22 states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration and asked the court to block the proposed $4 billion a year budget cut in funding to biomedical researchers nationwide. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Democratic attorneys general of 22 states filed a lawsuit on Feb. 10 seeking to block billions of dollars in cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ordered last week by the Trump administration.

Filed in federal court in Boston, their lawsuit is seeking to stop cuts to the NIH, including the reimbursement rate for the indirect costs to research institutions that are not directly related to a scientific project’s goals. Indirect costs include the costs of laboratory space, faculty, equipment, and infrastructure.