The US Supreme Court has derailed researchers’ efforts to reinstate almost $2 billion in research grants issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The court’s decision on Thursday represents a remarkable reversal, allowing the administration of US President Donald Trump to proceed with science cuts it began in late February.
‘We were ready for this’: meet the scientists suing the Trump administration to reinstate terminated grants
In a divided decision, the high court held that lawsuits filed by researchers to reinstate grants should have been reviewed by a court specializing in contracts, rather than the district court they were filed in. But the Supreme Court narrowly ruled that the district court could review the NIH’s guidelines used to make the grant terminations and left in place the lower court’s order that the guidelines are illegal and should not be used. The lower court said in June that the grant cuts made by the Trump administration in relation to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) amounted to racial discrimination.