Attorney General James Sues Trump Administration for Illegally Cutting Funding for Medical Research

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 15 other attorneys general today filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for its unlawful cancellation of National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants that fund critical medical and scientific advancements. In March, NIH began to terminate millions of dollars in grant funding for previously approved research projects, including projects focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), LGBTQ+ health, and vaccine hesitancy, on the basis that the projects no longer align with NIH priorities. In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Attorney General James and the coalition are challenging the administration’s abrupt, unjustified, and illegal decision to revoke these funds, as well as NIH’s suspension of the grant approval process, which threaten life-saving research in New York and across the country. 

“Once again, the Trump administration is putting politics before public health and risking lives and livelihoods in the process,” said Attorney General James. “Millions of Americans depend on our nation’s research institutions for treatments and cures to the diseases that devastate families every day. The decision to cut these funds is an attack on science, public health, and medical innovation – and I won’t stand for it. We are suing to restore these critical funds because the people of New York, and the entire nation, deserve better.” 

The NIH is the largest public funder of medical research in the world and is responsible for life-saving vaccines that have eradicated several diseases, biomedical discoveries that have reduced the risk of certain cancers, and life-extending treatments for illnesses that were previously a death sentence, like HIV and AIDS. The NIH has propelled the United States to its position as a global health and life sciences leader – a position that Attorney General James and the coalition argue is now in jeopardy because of the Trump administration’s disruption of NIH grants. The NIH’s grant program has funded many of the world’s most significant innovations. In 2024 alone, NIH’s grant program spurred more than $94 billion in profit. Now, the Trump administration is attempting to claw back funding for projects that do not align with the president’s ideologies, while simultaneously grinding the review and approval of pending grant applications to a halt. 

Since March, NIH has sent hundreds of letters to researchers notifying them that their grant funding is being withdrawn because their projects “no longer effectuate agency priorities.” The only explanation provided is that the research projects are connected to “DEI,” “transgender issues,” “vaccine hesitancy,” or another topic that the president and his administration dislike.  

Attorney General James and the coalition argue that these delays and terminations have caused – and, if left unchecked, will continue to cause – significant and irreparable damage to research efforts across the nation. Collectively, the states involved in the lawsuit are awaiting decisions on billions of dollars in requested research funding, including millions of dollars in funding for projects that have already gotten the green light from NIH reviewers. This strain has only been exacerbated by NIH starting to cancel grants previously issued to research institutions, clawing back millions of dollars in already-awarded money. The funding cuts have already disrupted ongoing studies at leading research institutions, threatening years of medical progress.   

In New York, NIH has terminated more than $4.5 million in research grants for the State University of New York (SUNY). The cancelled grants include projects on Alzheimer’s disease in Asian and Latino Americans, substance abuse risks for LGBTQ+ youth, cardiovascular disease in LGBTQ+ individuals, and HIV treatment in Ghana. NIH has even terminated the remaining funding for a $3.5 million project that established a groundbreaking training center for health equity researchers studying health disparities in and around Buffalo. In termination letters, NIH arbitrarily claimed these were “DEI studies” and stated that the projects were “incompatible with agency priorities, and no modification of the project could align the project with agency priorities.” The letters provided no factual basis for these claims nor any insight on new agency priorities. Several of these studies had the potential to achieve significant breakthroughs that would have advanced public health for the country but are now shut down indefinitely. Meanwhile, delays in NIH funding have delayed ongoing and future studies, forced researchers to abandon studies and lose key personnel, and prevented SUNY from launching several community health initiatives. 

Attorney General James and the coalition argue that NIH’s grant terminations violate federal law, including the Administrative Procedure Act, as the agency has failed to acknowledge, or provide any rationale for any changes in agency policy that would justify the terminations. In addition, the attorneys general argue that the cuts go against congressionally mandated directives for NIH, including statutory requirements that the NIH Director work to improve research on LGBTQ+ health, expand research on women’s and reproductive health, and diversify the biomedical research workforce. The attorneys general also assert that NIH is violating its responsibilities under federal law by delaying the review, approval, and provision of funds for pending grant applications. The attorneys general are asking a court to restore the improperly revoked grants and ensure that the federal government follows lawful procedures when making funding decisions. 

This is the latest action Attorney General James has taken to protect New Yorkers and the services they rely on from the Trump administration’s illegal attacks. Yesterday, Attorney General James sued President Trump for his unconstitutional attempt to seize control of elections. Also yesterday, Attorney General James won a court order temporarily blocking the Trump administration from slashing $11 billion in vital health funding for state and local governments. On March 14, Attorney General James and a coalition secured a court order reinstating federal workers subject to mass firings at 18 agencies. On March 13, Attorney General James led a coalition of 20 attorneys general in suing the Trump administration to stop the dismantling of the Department of Education. On March 10, Attorney General James secured a court order blocking the Trump administration from cutting critical grant programs for teachers, and on March 6, Attorney General James secured a court order blocking the Trump administration’s freeze of essential federal funds to states. On March 5, Attorney General James and a coalition of attorneys general won a court order stopping the Trump administration from withholding vital funding to the National Institutes of Health. On February 24, Attorney General James led a coalition of attorneys general in securing a court order preventing Elon Musk and members of DOGE from accessing Americans’ private information through the U.S. Treasury, and on February 13, Attorney General James and a coalition of attorneys general secured a preliminary injunction stopping the administration’s illegal revocation of birthright citizenship. 

Joining Attorney General James in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawai’i, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.