Depending on your point of view, New York State Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James is either a blessing or a curse for President Trump. Fourteen other state attorneys joined James and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell in protesting the Trump administration’s termination of NIH grants.
Only hours after the filing on Friday, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a permanent injunction in favor of the coalition, ordering the NIH to continue funding grants at previously agreed levels.
Prior to the judge’s swift decision, James issued a statement criticizing the Trump administration for putting “politics before public health.” The NIH funding cuts include investments to address long-standing health disparities and improve treatment equity.
This included withdrawing previously awarded grants, delaying meetings and decisions on pending grant applications, and failing to issue final recommendations.
“Millions of Americans depend on our nation’s research institutions for treatments and cures to the diseases that devastate families every day,” James observed. “The decision to cut these funds is an attack on science, public health, and medical innovation – and I won’t stand for it.”
Despite representing the interests of the people of New York, James stated that the entire nation deserved “better.”
“Not only do our public research institutions rely on NIH funding for their groundbreaking research, job creation and academic competitiveness, but our residents depend on these studies to propel lifesaving medical advancements,” Campbell told reporters. “I won’t allow the Trump administration to take unlawful actions that play politics with our public health.”
The ACLU has also sued the NIH for what it describes as a “ideological purge” of research projects. While the courts cannot save us from the consequences of Trump 2.0, legal efforts have the potential to stymie the implementation of at least some of the drastic policies.
According to reports, there are well over 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, including another filed last week over the loss of public health funding against the Department of Health and Human Services and new HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This includes more than $1 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Both James and Campbell have been part of a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general fighting extremist executive orders, such as the recent attempt to seize control of federal elections.
A day before the NIH lawsuit, Campbell criticized the Trump administration’s attempt to preemptively target future federal elections. The executive order on elections comes as Trump claims he may seek a third term.
“Elections should be free, fair, and accessible,” Campbell declared. “We will not stand by while the president tries to impose unlawful barriers to the ballot box.”
