This will ‘devastate scientific research’: 16 states sue the Trump administration over National Science Foundation directive
By Jackie Wattles, CNN
(CNN) — Attorneys general from 16 mostly Democrat-controlled US states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Wednesday, arguing that some of the federal government’s attempts to gut National Science Foundation research programs are illegal.
The suit, filed in federal court Wednesday afternoon, asks a judge to put a stop to NSF policies that are halting millions of dollars’ worth of research spending.
The move comes after the NSF announced in April that it would do away with hundreds of grants — mostly related to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) and misinformation research — that amounted to more than $230 million. The cancellations have mounted since then, so far affecting a total of 1,753 grants worth nearly $1.4 billion across numerous areas of research, according to NSF data.
Neither the National Science Foundation nor the White House responded to a request for comment.
The agency also announced a new policy in May that caps how much researchers can spend on “indirect costs,” which include operating expenses such as the use of laboratories, safety programs and equipment, at 15%. (The cap is currently on hold through June 13, pending a legal hearing.)
The attorneys general argue such a policy would “slash millions of dollars for groundbreaking scientific research across the country, jeopardizing national security, the economy, and public health,” according to a news release from New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
The coalition’s lawsuit also argues that the Trump administration’s efforts to shutter research related to diversity is illegal. The NSF “has a Congressionally-mandated focus on improving diversity in STEM fields,” according to the news release from James’ office. “Congress has instructed in law that a ‘core strategy’ of NSF’s work must be to increase the participation of people who have historically been left out of STEM occupations.”
A federal law states that the National Science Foundation should work to increase the “participation of women and individuals from underrepresented groups in STEM.”
The new lawsuit argues that recent NSF directives “violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution by unlawfully changing NSF policy and ignoring Congress’s intent for how NSF should function,” according to the news release. “The lawsuit seeks a court order ruling NSF’s new policies are illegal and blocking them from being implemented.”
A battle over DEIA
The National Science Foundation is a $9 billion agency charged with advancing discoveries across the scientific spectrum, largely by evaluating the scientific merit of grant requests and doling out dollars, mostly to universities and other research institutions.
The agency’s staff has been asked in recent weeks to ensure funding requests comply with Trump’s executive orders that have sought to dismantle DEIA-related activities and a “free speech” directive that argues efforts to combat misinformation can be “used to infringe on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States.”
Many researchers, stakeholders, and institutions that work with the NSF have decried the new policies.
The Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences, for example, said in an April 24 statement that the Trump administration’s directives have put scientists in the “middle of a political tug-of-war, wasting valuable time and resources.”
Former NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, who was tapped to lead the agency during Trump’s first term, also resigned in late April — 16 months before his term was set to end.
“I believe I have done all I can to advance the critical mission of the agency and feel that it is time for me to pass the baton to new leadership,” Panchanathan said on April 24 in parting remarks, which were provided to CNN by an agency spokesperson.
The White House has proposed a sweeping 55% budget cut for the NSF, and the agency could face sweeping layoffs.
The coalition of states suing the Trump administration over NSF changes include New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Washington.
The lawsuit mirrors another filed May 5 by 19 states and Washington, DC, against the Trump administration for allegedly taking “a wrecking ball to the Department of Health and Human Services.”
The Trump administration had in late March announced plans to cut some discretionary federal health spending and transform several health agencies. The restructuring plans include consolidating the 28 agencies of HHS into 15 new divisions, including the Administration for a Healthy America.
The lawsuit over the HHS changes alleges that the impacts of the restructuring already have been harmful, leading to the shutdown of some regional HHS offices that provide services to low-income families, children with disabilities, youth experiencing homelessness and preschool development programs.
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