Following the recent wave of employee layoffs, President Donald Trump and his administration continue their onslaught against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). The layoffs target probationary employees, specifically those who had recently transitioned into their role or have been with the organization for less than two years.
As of February 14, 10% of the CDC, around 1,300 employees, and 1,500 employees at the NIH were removed from their post. The Office of Personnel Management, in collaboration with President Trump, swept through all federal departments in an effort to streamline and rework a sense of efficiency in the Executive Branch.
In late January, the NIH, CDC, and adjacent health organizations including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were ordered by the President to halt all external communications, pending a review from the administration.
These actions come in the wake of potential NIH funding limits on “indirect costs” which have been placed on a temporary, nationwide hold by a Massachusetts federal judge. These indirect costs are intended to help maintain buildings and equipment, hire support staff, and pay overhead expenses. With limitations going as low as 15%, academic and research institutions expressed dismay over the sudden cuts, given that previous rates ranged from 20% to 60%, averaging at around 27%, according to the NIH.
The NIH guidance on funding limits noted that foundations such as the Gates Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation previously had maximum indirect cost rates floating around the proposed 15%. The guidance went on to say that “[it] is accordingly vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead.” However, while the new guidance was influenced by private foundations, these organizations could not fill the sizable gap created by the redirection of funding.
The 2021 supplementary table provided by the NIH in the guidance shows that the percentage of indirect costs compared to direct costs has remained consistent from 2009 through 2021, which includes the first Trump administration. Moreover, in the 2023 fiscal year, NIH funding generated an estimated $92.89 billion for economic activity, almost double the value of their budget. The NIH also reports that the 76 patents created from every $100 million of funding generate an estimated $598 million in further research.
Many researchers have condemned the proposal, while others, primarily allies of Trump, say that the cuts would have increased the amount of money going directly toward research rather than on unnecessary costs.
That being said, these moves by the Trump Administration signal a shift in the President’s attitude against higher education and public health since his first term. However, as seen with the NIH funding cuts, several states and organizations have moved to file lawsuits against the administration, resulting in lengthy pauses to the President’s proposed agenda.
By Lois Angelo