Other LanguagesSEATTLE – Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general have secured a nationwide preliminary injunction in Massachusetts v. NIH. The order prevents the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from cutting billions of dollars in funds that support cutting-edge medical and public health research at universities and institutions across the country regardless of whether their states have joined the lawsuit.
“This is a major win for research institutions across Washington state and the country,” said Brown. “NIH provides lifesaving medical, agricultural, and public health research the people of Washington depend on. President Trump attempted the same thing during his first term and the administration must know blocking NIH funding like this is illegal.”
The preliminary injunction protects critical funds that facilitate biomedical research, like lab, faculty, infrastructure, and utility costs. Without them, the lifesaving and life-changing medical research in which the United States has long been a leader could be compromised.
Most NIH-funded research occurs outside of federal government institutions, including at public and private universities and colleges in Washington state. The money goes to fund critical and time-sensitive research into life-saving medicine such as cures for cancer, as well as numerous treatments and therapies for a wide array of medical, physiological, and public health issues. The money funds animal laboratories that are instrumental for research into human and animal health alike. It funds clinical trials for treatments of Alzheimer’s, diabetes, pediatric cancer, kidney cancer, and many other life-threatening diseases. It also goes into the facilities that are critical for monitoring and detecting emerging health threats, such as avian influenza, that present imminent danger to Washington’s agricultural and public health.
On February 10, less than six hours after the coalition filed their lawsuit against the administration, a judge in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order against NIH, barring its attempts to cut the critical research funding. Today’s order takes the place of the temporary restraining order and prevents the Trump administration from cutting this important category of funding as the case proceeds. It will remain in effect until a final ruling is made.
This lawsuit is being co-led by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Illinois, and Michigan. Joining this coalition are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
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