The Trump administration wants to cut NIH funding, now wants more control over the grants it provides to be sure they are consistent with its ideology- medical research coming second in priorities.
- Trump’s administration cut/withhold NIH research funding in 2025. GAO found that NIH terminated more than 1,800 grants between February and June 2025 and concluded that HHS had unlawfully withheld congressionally appropriated NIH funds.
- The administration also attempted to reduce the amount NIH pays universities for indirect costs (overhead such as facilities and administration) to 15%, down from negotiated rates that averaged roughly 27–28%.
- But Congress did not enact Trump’s proposed large reduction in the NIH’s overall budget.
So now you know his priorities, a warped ideology, not finding cures or prevention of diseases affecting all Americans.
But Mr. Trump has sought through a series of recent directives in his second term to bring that process under political review, arguing in part that the government has been funding “woke” liberal priorities. NYTs 9/20/26
The NIH is important to every American now and in the future.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the U.S. government’s main agency for medical and biomedical research. It is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
In practical terms, NIH does four major things:
- Funds medical research
- Gives grants to universities, hospitals, medical schools and research institutions.
- Research covers cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, infectious diseases, genetics, mental health, and thousands of other conditions.
- Conducts research itself
- NIH has its own research facilities, particularly at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
- Scientists there study diseases, develop treatments and investigate how the human body works.
- Develops the scientific foundation for new treatments
- NIH generally doesn’t manufacture or sell medicines.
- Instead, it funds the underlying research that can eventually lead to drugs, vaccines, medical devices and diagnostic tests.
- Trains and supports researchers
- NIH provides fellowships and training grants for scientists, physicians and other biomedical researchers.
A simple example
Suppose researchers want to understand why a particular type of cancer develops.
NIH → funds basic research → scientists identify a biological mechanism → researchers develop a potential treatment → clinical trials test it → FDA evaluates the resulting drug.
NIH is therefore heavily involved at the research end of that chain, rather than being the agency that approves drugs or provides health insurance.
How big is it?
NIH is composed of 27 institutes and centers, including the National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
A substantial portion of NIH’s budget goes outside the federal government as research grants to universities, hospitals and other institutions. That’s why NIH funding decisions can have a large effect on medical research throughout the country.
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