Federal Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order against NIH’s Directive to Slash Funding for Cutting-Edge Medical Research at Every U.S. Research Institution
MONTPELIER, Vt. – Following the filing of Attorney General Charity Clark’s lawsuit earlier today, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the National Institutes of Health (NIH), barring its attempt to unilaterally cut billions in funding for biomedical and public health research.
The TRO comes less than six hours after Attorney General Clark and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general sued the Trump Administration for violating laws that preserve NIH grants for medical research against arbitrary and unilateral cuts of the type attempted by the Trump Administration. The TRO stops the NIH from taking any steps to implement or enforce their attempted across-the-board reduction in research grants within the Plaintiff states until a further order is made by the Court.
Earlier today, Attorney General Clark issued the following statement when announcing the lawsuit: “This attempt by the Trump administration to claw back federal funding already appropriated by Congress is yet another blatant example of his disregard for the separation of powers and the limits of Presidential authority,” said Attorney General Clark. “Make no mistake: President Trump isn’t trying to save the taxpayers’ money – he’s trying to expand his powers and make billionaires richer. Today I am suing in defense of our public health and in defense of a government for the people.”
A hearing has been scheduled in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts on Friday, February 21 at 10 a.m. More information about Attorney General Clark’s lawsuit may be found here.