Hundreds of people gathered at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Friday afternoon to protest President Trump’s recent cuts to government spending on research institutions.
The Trump administration has taken steps to disrupt operations at the country’s top federal research institutions since late January, freezing grants issued by the National Institutes of Health and issuing executive orders on sex and gender and diversity, equity and inclusion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scrubbed its health data from its site in order to comply with those orders.
Most recently, the administration issued a policy to cut government funding to the National Institutes of Health by reducing the amount of grant funding that can go toward overhead costs.
NIH is the largest biomedical funder in the world and spent $35 billion on grants for research last year alone. About $9 billion of those funds went toward “indirect costs” like fees associated with facility maintenance and compliance and administrative worker salaries.
NIH capped the “indirect cost” rate at 15 percent of a total grant. Many universities and research institutions in the past have used 30 percent to 60 percent extra in their grant funding to cover these expenses.
Researchers have decried the move, arguing that lowering the “indirect cost” rate will halt life-saving research on illnesses like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
“I love my country, and I’m worried about my country right now,” said Francis Collins, former head of the NIH, to a sea of protesters waving signs that read “science prevents brain worms,” “divide cells not countries,” or “literally trying to cure multiple sclerosis but okay.”
One person carried a globe with a paper affixed to it stating, “save me” while another in the enormous crowd carried an American flag turned upside down, a sign of distress among sailors that has now become a symbol of right-wing protest.
Collins was one of lengthy lineup of speakers that included Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md), former NASA Administrator and Sen. Bill Nelson, Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) and former television personality and scientist Bill Nye.
Speakers also included former federal scientists, lay scientists, students, health care workers and disability advocates admonishing Trump and his Cabinet, and particularly Elon Musk and his work as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
All had the same point: Attacks on science are attacks on Americans.
“While moving fast and breaking things might be an appropriate mantra for Silicon Valley … Let’s go with ‘first, do no harm,’” said Collins. Six days ago, Collins stepped down from his position at NIH without giving an explanation for his departure.
Friday’s rally was seen as a sort of revival of the “March for Science,” which took place during Trump’s first term in the White House. A series of satellite protests across the country took place while people gathered in Washington.
Collins stressed that a robust funding for scientific research and agencies is needed now more than ever given the growing concern around H5N1 bird flu, the measles outbreak in the Southwest and a “mystery disease” plaguing the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The U.S.’s bird flu response was interrupted during the early weeks of Trump’s second term after the Department of Agriculture reportedly accidentally fired staffers working on a response to the outbreak. The agency is now trying to rehire those people.
Meanwhile, a second person died this week from the measles in New Mexico. An outbreak in Texas along New Mexico’s border has infected roughly 150 people, most of whom are unvaccinated.
“When you defend science, you are defending the health and welfare of the American people,” said Van Hollen.
Nye, commonly referred to as “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” urged lawmakers to “stand up for science,” bashing the Trump administration’s attempt to suppress references to climate change. He suggested there should be legal safeguards to prevent political interference with research and that scientist should be able to communicate their findings freely.
“Science is part of the American story,” he said. “If the United States is to lead the world, science can not be suppressed.”
