Attorney General Nick Brown has taken a central role in a multistate lawsuit against the Trump Administration, aimed at addressing alleged disruptions to grant funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, the lawsuit involves attorneys general from 16 states and challenges what they describe as unnecessary delays and the termination of numerous NIH grants.
The lawsuit contends that the Trump Administration's decisions to cancel certain grants — particularly those related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and vaccines — were influenced by unfavorable views rather than scientific merit. As a consequence, public research institutions are reportedly suffering setbacks.
Attorney General Brown emphasized the lawsuit’s importance, stating, "The Trump administration’s illegal withholding of funding stops life-saving advances in medical, agricultural, and public health research. The harm is not only to the advances in science, but also to the jobs of researchers doing this vital work. We are asking the court to allow funds that have already been allocated to flow to Washington’s centers of research."
The attorneys general are seeking a court order to expedite the review process and resolve pending grant applications, with billions in research funding at stake for the involved states.
The coalition filing the lawsuit is led by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, California, Maryland, and Washington, and includes representatives from Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
This lawsuit follows a February action involving Brown and a group of 22 attorneys general challenging the administration's attempt to cut "indirect cost" reimbursements for NIH grants. Initial relief was granted by a federal judge, who issued a preliminary injunction on March 5 to halt these funding cuts while the case moves forward.
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