A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled on Monday that directives from the Trump administration that led to the cancellations of several research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were “void” and “illegal.”
U.S. District Judge William Young said the cancellation of the grants — related to studies involving LGBTQ+ issues, gender identity and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) — violated federal law, saying it was a case of racial discrimination and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, according to the plaintiffs in the case.
Two lawsuits had been filed against the administration: One led by the American Public Health Association and the other filed by a group of 16 states. Some estimates have suggested that up to $1.8 billion in research funding had been cut.
Young, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, said he was ordering the NIH to restore the grants that were terminated.
In a statement, Andrew Nixon, the director of communications for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the agency stands by its decision to end funding for research “that prioritized ideological agendas over scientific rigor and meaningful outcomes for the American people. Under the leadership of Secretary Kennedy and the Trump administration, HHS is committed to ensuring that taxpayer dollars support programs rooted in evidence-based practices and gold standard science – not driven by divisive DEI mandates or gender ideology.”
Nixon said HHS is “exploring all legal options, including filing an appeal and moving to stay the order.”
Among the plaintiffs is Dr. Brittany Charlton, an associate professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who had all her grants terminated by the NIH.
The patient’s entrance at the National Institutes of Health is shown in Bethesda, Md., Oct. 16, 2014.
Gary Cameron/Reuters, FILE
One of the terminated grants focused on documenting obstetrical outcomes for lesbian, gay and bisexual women and another focused on how discriminatory laws impact mental health among LGBTQ+ teens.
“As a plaintiff, I felt truly seen — it was a rare moment when the deep harm caused to researchers and the communities we serve was acknowledged out loud, in front of the world,” Charlton told ABC News in a statement.
“Sitting there, I felt a wave of relief and hope as the judge condemned the government’s actions and ordered the grants to be reinstated,” the statement continued. “After so much uncertainty and disruption, it finally felt like justice and the value of our research — and the communities at its heart — were being affirmed.”
The terminations came after President Donald Trump passed a flurry of executive orders including vowing to “defend women from gender ideology extremism” and aiming to dismantle DEI initiatives.
According to termination letters sent to researchers at various universities that were reviewed by ABC News, the administration said the canceled projects do not serve the “priorities” of the current administration.
“Research programs based on gender identity are often unscientific, have little identifiable return on investment, and do nothing to enhance the health of many Americans. Many such studies ignore, rather than seriously examine, biological realities. It is the policy of NIH not to prioritize these research programs,” some of the termination letters read.
“The premise…is incompatible with agency priorities, and no modification of the project could align the project with agency priorities,” the letters continued.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman contributed to this report.
