Former Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Director Kathleen Severius is concerned about the Trump administration's recent cuts to research grants through the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“I'm worried about a lot of things,” Severius said at the Health Next Summit on the hill. “The kind of cuts that have just been published will be devastating, and will revert science and bring back research.”
The Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk's government efficiency has eliminated and wiped out all government agencies for the past two months, including the NIH.
Recently, the Trump administration announced it would cancel all NIH grants on equity issues, including jobs studying HIV and black maternal health.
The administration recently issued a 15% cap on indirect costs for NIH grants. Indirect funding for NIH grants is used to cover overhead and administrative costs at universities and other research institutions.
A federal judge recently ordered the NIH to suspend plans to cut grant amounts to universities, hospitals and other institutions, following numerous lawsuits from the state Democratic Attorney General and the American Association of Medical Colleges.
Still, many in the science community are concerned.
Scholars, healthcare workers and scientists are all opposed to reductions, claiming that they harm Americans in many ways, including saving lives and suspending life support research on diseases like cancer.
Severius said in his Kansas homeland, both Kansas State and the University of Kansas have begun to lose millions of dollars “on the health side.”
“It has decades of impact,” she said.
Severius said the cuts could erase the US's status as a research leader and gold standard.
She said China is “eager to take the US duties as a leader in scientific research if given the opportunity.
“They will be happy to step into the vacuum we create,” she said.
