MADISON, Wis. (WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PRESS RELEASE) – Gov. Evers and Attorney General Kaul and 21 other states today sued the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for unlawfully cutting funds that support cutting-edge medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country.
The coalition is challenging the Trump Administration’s attempt to unilaterally cut “indirect cost” reimbursements at every research institution throughout the country. These reimbursements cover expenses to facilitate biomedical research, like lab, faculty, infrastructure, and utility costs. Without them, the lifesaving and life-changing medical research in which the United States has long been a leader could be compromised.
Indirect cost reimbursements are based on each institution’s unique needs, negotiated with the federal government through a carefully regulated process, and then memorialized in an executed agreement. The Trump Administration’s purports to toss those agreements aside, putting public health and medical advancements at risk. The coalition’s lawsuit seeks to prevent that reckless and illegal conduct.
The lawsuit was filed today in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts.
“To think that the Trump Administration wants to gut funding to help find cures and treatments for things like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes—it’s unconscionable,” said Gov. Evers. “The University of Wisconsin System is a national and global leader in helping solve real problems for people here in Wisconsin and the world over, and ensuring UW System’s success is a critical part of ensuring Wisconsin’s future economic success. The Trump Administration’s reckless federal funding cuts will be devastating for Wisconsin and a setback for millions of people who hope and pray every day for a cure or treatments that might save their life or the life of someone they love.”
“This really should go without saying, but making drastic and rushed cuts to funding that supports the fight against cancer and other dangerous diseases is wrong. And what makes cuts like these all the more appalling is that they’re clearly being made in order to fund tax cuts that will disproportionately benefit the ultra wealthy,” said AG Kaul. “Our health and well-being shouldn’t have to suffer so that folks like Elon Musk can get massive tax breaks.”
On Friday, February 7, the NIH announced it would abruptly slash indirect cost rates to an across-the-board 15% rate, which is significantly less than the cost required to perform cutting edge medical research. The NIH purported to make this cut effective the very next business day, Monday, February 10, giving universities and institutions no time to plan for the enormous budget gaps they are now facing. Without immediate relief, this action could result in the suspension of lifesaving and life-extending clinical trials, disruption of research programs, layoffs, and laboratory closures.
The coalition argues that this action violates the Administrative Procedure Act, federal regulations, and a directive Congress passed during President Trump’s first term to fend off his earlier attempt to drastically cut research reimbursements. That statutory language, still in effect, prohibits the NIH from requiring categorial and indiscriminate changes to indirect cost reimbursements. The coalition is seeking a court order barring the Trump Administration and NIH from implementing the action.
The NIH is the primary source of federal funding for medical research in the United States. Medical research funding by NIH grants have led to innumerable scientific breakthroughs, including the discovery of treatment for cancers of all types, the first sequencing of DNA and the development of the MRI. Additionally, dozens of NIH-supported scientists have earned Nobel Prizes for their groundbreaking scientific work.
Most NIH-funding research occurs outside of federal government institutions such as both public and private universities and colleges. In Wisconsin, for example, research at UW-Madison is supported by $513 million from the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services, and the proposed NIH funding cuts would eliminate approximately $65 million in funding for the current year. The loss of these funds will immediately impact UW-Madison’s federally funded research that is intended to promote national security interests and maintain the nation’s competitive edge through export controls and measures to prevent malign foreign influence; protect human and animal participants in research; protect public investments in research; and ensure the safe conduct of research involving hazardous biological agents, recombinant DNA, and radiation.
States joining Wisconsin in filing the lawsuit include Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
PRESS RELEASE: Gov. Evers, Attorney General Kaul sue Trump Administration for Defunding Medical and Public Health Innovation Research | Wisconsin Department of Justice
Copyright 2025 WEAU. All rights reserved.
Gov. Tony Evers Releases Statement Regarding New Lawsuit to Stop Trump Administration from Gutting Life-Saving Medical Research
