Judge Keeps Lawsuit Challenging NIH Cuts Alive
A lawsuit challenging sweeping grant cuts at the National Institutes of Health can move forward, a federal judge ruled Monday. Judge William Young of the District of Massachusetts did grant part of the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss but denied the bulk of the motion, allowing the lawsuit to continue. The lawsuit is one of several challenging grant cuts at federal agencies.
In this case, individual university researchers, a public health advocacy organization and a union sued in early April, arguing that NIH officials broke the law when they canceled $2.4 billion in grants. Specifically, the American Public Health Association and other groups said in the initial complaint that the cancellations violated the Administrative Procedure Act as well as the Fifth Amendment and the separation of powers. The plaintiffs took issue with the cancellation notices, which told grantees that their award “no longer effectuates agency priorities.” ...
Young, a Reagan appointee, found that at this stage of the case, when the facts must be viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the government’s arguments don’t pass muster. “The Public Officials next argue that their explanations were reasoned and reasonable under the circumstances,” he wrote. “At the motion to dismiss stage, the complaint has plausibly alleged otherwise—that the explanations are conclusory and vague.
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