Trump administration blocks NIH from awarding any research grants and contracts

Source: StatNews

"The White House Office of Management and Budget has limited National Institutes of Health spending, according to a memo sent to the institute and center directors on Tuesday afternoon that directed them to immediately halt the issuing of research grants, research and development contracts, and training awards during a “pause” of unspecified duration.

That constitutes the entirety of new and, possibly, ongoing research grant dollars that go from the NIH out to universities, academic medical centers, and other research institutions. The four-sentence email, which STAT obtained, refers to a footnote included with OMB’s apportionment of NIH funding, its allocation of congressionally appropriated dollars for the final two months of the fiscal year.

The Department of Health and Human Services, the email says, “has interpreted this footnote” to prohibit new awards and adds that NIH is “working to make this limitation short-term and temporary.”

“They’re taking patients hostage, and we don’t even have a ransom note,” said Russ Paulsen, the CEO of the nonprofit UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. “The president, the secretary [of Health and Human Services], have all said that they’re committed to curing chronic disease. You don’t do that by cutting research funding.”

Read more: https://www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/trump-administration-omb-blocks-nih-grant-awards/