Pallone Condemns Trump’s National Institutes of Health Research Cuts

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today condemned the Trump Administration’s decision to unilaterally slash federal medical and public health research funding and applauded New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin for swiftly challenging the move in court. Trump’s plan would drastically reduce the Facilities and Administrative (F&A) cost reimbursements that support medical and public health research at institutions across the country, including Rutgers and Princeton.

“The Trump Administration’s unlawful decision to slash federal research funding is a direct threat to medical innovation in New Jersey and across the country. For example, at Rutgers and Princeton alone, these cuts would rip away $77 million in funding, crippling the very institutions that have been at the forefront of biomedical advancements,” Pallone said.

“Rutgers is proud to be a partner of the federal government in conducting research that improves the health and welfare of the American people and strengthens our economy. The proposed funding cuts would drastically reduce the amount of federal research that Rutgers and other universities would be able to undertake, and would diminish innovation, slow scientific progress, and undermine our nation’s competitive edge,” said Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway. 

“By gutting the funding that keeps our research institutions running—from lab maintenance to faculty support—this move jeopardizes lifesaving breakthroughs in cancer treatments, infectious disease research, and so much more. It’s particularly appalling that the Trump Administration is eliminating lifesaving cancer research while plotting huge tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations,” Pallone continued.  

“Congress has explicitly barred the executive branch from making unilateral changes to this federal research funding since 2017 so the Trump Administration is clearly breaking the law.  I’m grateful that Attorney General Matt Platkin is acting swiftly to challenge this in court. New Jersey has always been a leader in medical research, and we’re not going to stand by while the Trump Administration undermines our institutions and threatens public health. I’ll keep fighting in Congress to ensure this dangerous proposal is blocked and our researchers get the support they need to keep making groundbreaking discoveries,” Pallone said.

The lawsuit, filed by New Jersey and 21 other states, seeks to stop the administration from implementing an across-the-board 15% cap on F&A cost reimbursements for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants. These reimbursements cover essential expenses such as lab operations, faculty salaries, and infrastructure costs—critical components of research that lead to medical advancements and public health breakthroughs.