An internal memo reportedly issued by the NIH directed staff to resume issuing frozen grants.
This week, a federal court ordered the Trump administration to halt plans to slash $4 billion in research funding directed by the National Institutes of Health, after a lawsuit filed by 22 state attorneys general. On Wednesday, a memo published by the website Popular Information, reportedly written by NIH leadership, said the agency would, in response, resume the issuing of grants.
“NIH will effectuate the administration’s goals over time, but given recent court orders, this cannot be a factor in [Institute and Center] funding decisions at this time,” it read.
The memo, purportedly written by Deputy Director for Extramural Research Michael Lauer and NIH Chief Grants Officer Michelle Bulls, also noted that NIH programs “fall under recently issued Temporary Restraining Orders” by federal courts.
Being Patient could not independently confirm the authenticity of the memo, and NIH representatives were not immediately available for comment.
David Super, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, noted that he had seen the document, and added that it “looked authentic,” but could also not independently confirm its authenticity.
In that interview with Being Patient, Super added that the administration’s NIH funding freeze was “probably illegal,” given what he described as apparent violations of the Administrative Procedure Act. The 1946 statute, derived from what was then a New Deals expansion of government, became bedrock for regulatory action, intended to reign in executive authority by governing the process by which federal agencies create and issue regulations. It not only sought to protect agencies against actions that might be considered “arbitrary and capricious,” but also includes requirements for publishing notices and opportunities for public comment.
“My suspicion is had the administration sought public comment, they would have received factual information that presented their actions as arbitrary and capricious,” Super explained.
The Trump administration has, by contrast, adopted the interpretation that such actions reside within the purview of executive authority. Terms like “arbitrary and capricious” remain hotly debated inside the Beltway, while billions in funding for scientific research hang in the balance.
Last year, congressional leaders announced a $100 million increase in NIH funding for Alzheimer’s and dementia research, which included $34 million to implement the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act. The BOLD Act is meant to provide funding to state, local and tribal public health departments in a bid to strengthen public health infrastructure.
