Appeals court prevents cuts to billions in medical and public health research funding

A federal appeals court has affirmed a lower court ruling permanently preventing the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from implementing a policy that would cut billions of dollars in funds that support medical and public health research, including more than $120 million for the University of Washington and Washington State University.

“This funding is key to fueling the breakthroughs that have made Washington a powerhouse in medical research, work that saves lives,” Attorney General Nick Brown said. “That’s why we’ve fought so hard to protect these funds, which are used to help unlock the mysteries of some of our biggest health challenges, like Alzheimer’s disease, pediatric cancer, and diabetes.”

The ruling protects critical funds that facilitate biomedical research, such as lab, faculty, infrastructure, and utility costs. Without them, the lifesaving medical research in which the United States — and Washington, in particular — has long been a leader, could be compromised. At UW Medicine, for example, NIH federal research grants have supported development of a new gene therapy treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and a new care model for people with traumatic brain injuries.

On February 10, 2025, less than six hours after Brown and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general filed their lawsuit against the administration, a judge in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order against NIH, barring its attempts to cut the critical research funding. The court subsequently issued a permanent injunction preventing the administration from implementing its policy restrictions on this important category of funding. The administration then appealed that ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

NIH is the primary source of federal funding for medical research in the United States. Medical research funding by NIH grants has led to innumerable scientific breakthroughs, including the discovery of treatment for cancers of all types and the first sequencing of DNA. Additionally, dozens of NIH-supported scientists have earned Nobel prizes for their groundbreaking scientific work.

Joining Brown in filing the lawsuit, which was led by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Illinois and Michigan, were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.  

A copy of the appeals court decision is available here.

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