Federal judge rules hundreds of NIH grant terminations illegal
On June 16, a federal judge in Boston ruled that the National Institutes of Health’s termination of hundreds of research grants was illegal and ordered the funds reinstated. In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young called the terminations “arbitrary and capricious.”
A small handful of the roughly 200 federal grants to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that have been terminated in recent months could be affected by the ruling. It is not clear whether or when payments on those grants might resume.
The ruling came in response to two lawsuits. One was filed by the American Public Health Association, labor unions, and a group of public health researchers, including Harvard Chan School’s Brittany Charlton. A second lawsuit was filed by a group of 16 states, led by Massachusetts, which has seen the lion’s share of federal grant terminations, in part because the Trump administration has cut all federal funding to Harvard University.
The grants addressed in the ruling focused on topics related to issues such as diversity, LGBTQ+ health, and other areas out of favor with the Trump administration.
Charlton, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology, commented on the new ruling in a June 17 ABC News article.
“As a plaintiff, I felt truly seen—it was a rare moment when the deep harm caused to researchers and the communities we serve was acknowledged out loud, in front of the world,” said Charlton, whose grants do not flow through Harvard Chan School.
In a June 16 Boston Globe article, Charlton said, “Today’s decision is an important step in protecting public health and allowing critical research to continue. Research that helps us understand and treat serious diseases should be based on science, not politics.”
Ariel Beccia, instructor in the Department of Epidemiology, commented on the ruling in a June 17 GBH article—specifically on the judge’s description of the grant terminations as racial discrimination and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ population.
“We are so … grateful to hear it finally spoken out loud that this is indeed discrimination,” said Beccia, whose research focuses on mental health inequities faced by LGBTQ+ populations during the COVID pandemic.
Read the ABC News article: Federal judge rules Trump directives canceling NIH grants are ‘void,’ ‘illegal’
Read the Boston Globe article: ‘Have we no shame?’ Federal judge declares hundreds of NIH grant terminations ‘void and illegal.’
Read the GBH article: After court rules against NIH, researchers wonder if their canceled grants will be restored
