A trio of Democrats on Monday called on the Trump administration to restore full operations at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) warning that the halt in the agency’s grant process could cause “disastrous” consequences domestically and abroad.
Democratic Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wrote to acting Health and Human Service (HHS) Secretary Dorothy Fink about their concerns regarding disrupted NIH research.
Last week, the NIH canceled meetings essential to the fellowship and grant-approval process. This came soon after the Trump administration froze many federal health agency communications, though it remains unclear if these two actions are connected.
The Trump administration has also ordered all divisions of HHS to stop external communications until Feb. 1.
“Without quick corrective action, the consequences of further disruption could be disastrous for both medical progress in America and our nation’s overall standing and competitiveness on the world stage,” the lawmakers wrote.
“We therefore urge you to restore full operations at NIH, including by promptly ending the external communications freeze across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and resuming federal advisory committees, study sections, patient engagement, and travel for staff at NIH.”
The letter was first reported by The Washington Post.
The pause in the grant-making process has alarmed researchers in the U.S. who’ve warned that the meeting process for NIH grants is not easily rescheduled and could threaten future studies.
“The HHS-wide communications freeze is currently in place through February 1, 2025, and we are deeply troubled by the consequences of any further delays in the NIH research award process, trainings, patient outreach and engagement, and other external communications beyond that date,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote Fink.
They asked that the NIH quickly resume normal operations in order to end the “administrative chaos.”
