Attorney General Dan Rayfield has aligned with 15 other attorneys general to file a lawsuit against the Trump Administration. The lawsuit, lodged in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, addresses the Administration's actions perceived as illegal disruptions in grant funding distributed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This legal action responds to accusations of intentional delays and the cancellation of hundreds of existing grants.
Rayfield expressed concern over the situation, stating, “This administration thinks they can play games with public health and research, but they’re messing with the future of science and the well-being of Oregonians. Oregon’s researchers deserve the resources they need to make breakthroughs, not to be held hostage by political games.”
The NIH's standard grant application process includes a two-step review: an initial evaluation by a subject-matter expert panel and a further review by an advisory council. Both these review meetings have reportedly been canceled since January, with future meetings yet to be scheduled. Additionally, decisions on grant applications, even those approved by the panels, remain on hold indefinitely. Plaintiff states claim they are waiting on billions of dollars in research funding decisions.
The complaint further alleges that the NIH has terminated numerous ongoing projects, citing connections to topics like “DEI,” “transgender issues,” and “vaccine hesitancy” as reasons. The NIH's boilerplate termination letters indicated the projects “no longer effectuates agency priorities.” The coalition contends these actions retract millions of dollars meant for significant public health purposes.
The lawsuit asserts that the NIH's actions violate statutory obligations and applicable regulations by postponing meetings, delaying application reviews, withholding final decisions, and canceling grants. The coalition insists the Administration lacks authority to refuse congressionally appropriated funds.
The coalition seeks a court directive to compel the Administration to expedite the review and decision-making process for pending grant applications and to prevent further termination of awarded grants.
Previously, on February 10, AG Rayfield and 22 other attorneys general filed a suit against the Administration's attempt to cut “indirect cost” reimbursements for NIH grants nationwide. By March 5, a federal judge issued an injunction preventing the Administration from implementing these cuts while the case was still ongoing.
AG Rayfield's lawsuit is supported by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.