Press Statement  NIH Case Update: AG Campbell Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration From Defunding Medical And Public Health Innovation Research

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has issued the following statement after a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the National Institutes of Health (NIH), barring its attempt to unilaterally cut billions in funding for biomedical and public health research: 

“The Court's swift action provides immediate relief to research and public health institutions throughout the Commonwealth," said AG Campbell. "This is an initial victory for every person and family counting on the life saving science funded by federal grants. I will not stop fighting for the people of Massachusetts, for their health care, and for the rule of law."

The TRO comes less than six hours after AG Campbell and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general sued the Trump Administration for violating laws that preserve NIH grants for medical research against arbitrary and unilateral cuts, of the type attempted by the Trump Administration. The TRO stops the NIH from taking any steps to implement or enforce their attempted across-the-board reduction in research grants within the Plaintiff states until a further order is made by the Court.

A hearing has been scheduled in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts on Friday, February 21 at 10 a.m. More information about AG Campbell’s lawsuit may be found here.