“On a 5-4 vote Thursday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to withhold for now hundreds of millions of dollars in health-research grants.
It blocked portions of a ruling by a Boston federal judge barring the administration from cutting off hundreds of National Institutes of Health grants. The grants were in areas the Trump administration deemed related to diversity measures, transgender issues and Covid-related research.
Solicitor General John Sauer sought emergency relief on behalf of the administration, arguing the district judge didn't have jurisdiction, and couldn't interfere with the termination of the grants even if he did.
The five most conservative justices indicated they were sympathetic to the government's position. But a different 5-4 majority declined for now to block parts of the Boston ruling that voided directives from the administration that were the basis for the grants' being canceled.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett provided the key fifth vote for both parts of the order. The litigation continues, and Thursday's order isn't a final ruling.
The case involves about 900 NIH grants, according to Grant Witness, an independent group. After the trial-court ruling, NIH appeared to have begun the process of restoring funds to at least some by early August, the group's tracking of public data shows.
Grant Witness says the funding, paid out over multiple years, has an estimated total value of about $3.8 billion. The government has said it is trying to terminate around $783 million not yet paid out.
The attorney general for Massachusetts and the American Public Health Association, two plaintiffs challenging the administration's move, said they were disappointed with the decision. The NIH referred inquiries to the Department of Health and Human Services, which didn't respond.
Government funding for science constitutes just more than half of university research dollars.
But the Trump administration has terminated thousands of grants. Some elite schools such as Columbia University and Harvard University had hundreds terminated as the administration investigated alleged failure to protect Jewish students. Columbia and Brown University have since announced agreements with the administration expected to restore the funds.
Meanwhile, grappling with new rules and staff cuts, NIH and the National Science Foundation have issued billions less in funding than in previous years, prompting worries that they won't be able to spend their allotted cash before the fiscal year ends.” [1]
1. U.S. News: Supreme Court Lets Trump Stop Funding For Research Grants. Radnofsky, Louise; Subbaraman, Nidhi. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 22 Aug 2025: A5.
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