In an internal NIH memo circulated on Tuesday, Michelle Bulls, who helps oversee the agency’s external funding arm, directed agency staff not to cancel any additional research projects. Bulls instructed staff that, “effective immediately, please do not terminate any additional grant projects.” The memo marks a retreat by the agency, which has slashed funding for medical research and terminated hundreds of awards since the beginning of the Trump administration.
The memo comes in the wake of two important court decisions regarding cuts to federal research funding. A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled last week that some of the administration’s grant cancellations were “void and illegal,” and accused the government of racial discrimination and prejudice against LGBTQ individuals. Additionally, a federal judge in California temporarily blocked the canceling of grants to the University of California on Monday, ruling that the grant terminations violated the First Amendment. The administration is considering appeals to both decisions.
In the meantime, N.I.H. officials said they were continuing to categorize medical research grants based on whether they included topics disfavored by the Trump administration, even if they were not terminating those grants.