Countries covered by the HSPM platform

31 March 2025 | Policy Analysis
Trump administration uses executive branch to change what and how much scientific research the National Institutes of Health funds

2.6. Health information systems

This section is not included in the current edition of this HiT.

The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the largest funder of science and innovation to improve human health and longevity in the world ($47 billion in 2024). A recent report on how those dollars were spent found 80% were awarded to researchers in all 50 states and Washington DC, supported over 400,000 jobs and generated over $94 billion in new economic activity nationally. The NIH the falls under the executive branch and the current president is using his authority as the chief executive to attempt to reshape what and how much science is funded by public dollars.

During the first weeks of 2025, as the Trump administration took office, the NIH and other federal research agencies announced that operations were under review. On 27 January 2025, the Office of Management and Budget released a memo temporarily pausing funding and requiring all federal agencies to identify and review funding for all programmes for compliance with a series of presidential executive orders. It is not uncommon for a new president to pause funding decisions while their administration settles into power and establishing its priorities. However, the extent the funding review and the scope of what is deemed out of compliance with the administration’s priorities is unprecedented. Less than 48 hours after this blanket pause on federal funding was implemented, it was rescinded.

On 7 February 2025, the NIH released supplemental guidance stating that the indirect rate, to cover overhead costs for institutions conducting NIH-funded research, would be set at a uniform 15% – substantially lower than the 50% or higher indirect rate many top-tier research universities had negotiated. Within days, a number of legal cases were launched across nearly half of the states to challenge the guidance. On 5 March, a federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the proposed 15% NIH cap on the indirect rate.

Additionally, the NIH has also rescinded funding for at least 400 research grants, particularly targeting research related to health equity and environmental justice, but also nearly $500 million for identifying and developing antiviral drugs and vaccines to combat several viruses with pandemic potential, including the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

It is too early to assess the full impact on scientific research and academia across the USA of these sweeping cuts.