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University Unions Stand Up to Trump's Research Cuts While Administrators Waver
Universities across the country have been reeling from the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In less than 40 days, the administration canceled over $1.8 billion in grants, severing projects ranging from cancer research to diabetes treatments. Labor unions at the major public and private institutions across the country have been on the frontlines protesting the cutbacks.
Last week, a federal judge ruled some of the NIH cuts to be illegal, arguing the administration’s abrupt cancelation of grants to be “arbitrary and capricious.” Though the ruling covers only a small fraction of the total grants that the Trump administration has eliminated, it demonstrates the mounting legal pressure the administration faces.
The NIH has long been a crucial funder of biomedical and behavioral research for American universities, generating around $2.50 in economic activity for every dollar invested. Under normal circumstances, two separate review boards evaluate prospective grantees’ applications based on their scientific and technical merits. In February, however, the Trump administration took a cudgel to this process and announced that it would cap indirect costs (the cost of maintaining and operating facilities, which have typically fallen between 25 and 35 percent of total costs) at 15 percent and pause the panel review process.
This spring, student and university workers came together to protest the ongoing budget rollbacks at “Kill the Cuts” rallies across the country. “By cutting funds to lifesaving research and medical care, the Trump administration is abandoning families who are suffering and costing taxpayers billions of dollars,” said Rafael Jaime, president of UAW 4811, which represents 48,000 academic employees at the University of California. “These cuts are dangerous to our health, and dangerous to our economy.”
Last week, a federal judge ruled some of the NIH cuts to be illegal, arguing the administration’s abrupt cancelation of grants to be “arbitrary and capricious.” Though the ruling covers only a small fraction of the total grants that the Trump administration has eliminated, it demonstrates the mounting legal pressure the administration faces.
The NIH has long been a crucial funder of biomedical and behavioral research for American universities, generating around $2.50 in economic activity for every dollar invested. Under normal circumstances, two separate review boards evaluate prospective grantees’ applications based on their scientific and technical merits. In February, however, the Trump administration took a cudgel to this process and announced that it would cap indirect costs (the cost of maintaining and operating facilities, which have typically fallen between 25 and 35 percent of total costs) at 15 percent and pause the panel review process.
This spring, student and university workers came together to protest the ongoing budget rollbacks at “Kill the Cuts” rallies across the country. “By cutting funds to lifesaving research and medical care, the Trump administration is abandoning families who are suffering and costing taxpayers billions of dollars,” said Rafael Jaime, president of UAW 4811, which represents 48,000 academic employees at the University of California. “These cuts are dangerous to our health, and dangerous to our economy.”
https://prospect.org/education/2025-06-26-university-unions-trump-research-cuts/