National Institute of Health: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates (NOT-OD-25-068)
2/12/25: Top NIH official suddenly steps down (Science) News of Tabak’s retirement began to circulate outside NIH early this morning. In a 10:09 p.m. email from last night that Science obtained, Tabak told NIH staff: “I write to inform you that I have retired from government service, effective today, 2/11/2025.” https://www.science.org/content/article/top-nih-official-suddenly-steps-down
2/12/25: $900 Million in Institute of Education Sciences Contracts Axed (Inside Higher Ed) The National Center for Education Statistics has been hit hard while researchers say grant review panels have been halted. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/research/2025/02/12/900m-institute-education-sciences-contracts-axed
2/12/25: U of Iowa Briefly Halts New Research Amid NIH Chaos (Inside Higher Ed) … after a federal judge issued a nationwide injunction late Monday that blocked the change, the university reversed course. Still, the momentary pause shows how universities might respond to the cap if it ever takes effect. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/02/12/u-iowa-briefly-halts-new-research-amid-nih-chaos#
2/12/25: Trump Nominates Three Health and Human Services Officials (Bloomberg Law) President Donald Trump Tuesday night nominated Gustav Chiarello and Gary Andres to be assistant secretaries of HHS, along with Michael Stuart to be general counsel of the department. The executive nominations come ahead of senators’ expected vote this week to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead HHS. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/pharma-and-life-sciences/trump-nominates-three-health-and-human-services-officials?context=search&index=4
2/11/25: Judges suspend NIH plan to slash payments and order health agencies to restore web pages (Science) At least temporarily staving off what many saw as a crushing blow to U.S. biomedical research, a federal judge yesterday suspended a plan by President Donald Trump’s administration to slash billions of dollars in payments from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that now go to universities to cover the overhead costs of research. https://www.science.org/content/article/judges-suspend-nih-plan-slash-payments-and-order-health-agencies-restore-web-pages
2/11/25: A direct hit (Science, H. Holden Thorp, Editorial) The scientific community must unite in speaking out against this betrayal of a partnership that has enabled American innovation and progress. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw6467
2/11/25: DOGE Is Failing on Its Own Terms (The Atlantic) T he Trump administration has set its sights on basic science. Last week, the National Science Foundation revealed plans to lay off between a quarter and half of its staff, and the National Institutes of Health announced that it would drastically reduce grants to university research programs. …Let’s set aside the arguments about the constitutionality or wisdom of turning Musk loose on the federal bureaucracy. With its attack on research, DOGE is failing on its own terms. Cutting basic science funding violates its mandate to make government more efficient. If they survive legal challenges , the moves might save money in the short run, but in the years and decades to come, they will cost taxpayers dearly by slowing down innovation and making America’s future less prosperous. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/nih-nsf-science-doge/681645/
2/11/25: Democrats are divided on government shutdown threats (Politico) With just over a month until government funding expires, Democrats remain divided on whether they should use the threat of a government shutdown as a political cudgel as they try to push back on President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/02/11/congress/democrats-shutdown-split-00203568
2/10/25: The Courts Blocked Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze. Agencies Are Withholding Money Anyway. (Propublica) Agencies continue to suspend funding, despite multiple court orders blocking the federal freeze. Experts say the Trump administration’s actions set the stage for challenges to Congress’ authority — and the limits of the presidency. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-administration-funding-freeze-workarounds
