Document questions legality of cuts that affect US $ 12.1 billion in federal resources
More than 340 US (National US Health Institute) employees signed one criticizing the budget cuts implemented by the Government of Donald Trump (Republican Party). The information was released by the news agency Reuters.
The document was sent on Monday (08.jun.2025) to NIH director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and members of the congress. The letter says the measures affect research ongoing and compromise federal resources.
The delivery of the document came 1 day before Bhattacharya’s testimony before the US Senate appropriations committee on the institution’s budget. Of the total subscribers, about 250 opted for anonymity, while more than 60 current employees identified publicly.
According to the letter, since January 2025, when Trump assumed the presidency, NIH rescinded 2,100 survey scholarships that totaled $ 9.5 billion, plus $ 2.6 billion in contracts. Signatories claim that these terminations “Play outside years of hard work and millions of dollars”.
Trump administration proposed a $ 18 billion reduction in the NIH budget for next fiscal year, representing a 40%cut. This would leave the agency with $ 27 billion to operate. The proposal directly affects the largest funding institution of biomedical research in the world.
Among the employees who have publicly signed is Dr. Jenna Norton, program director of the NIH’s Kidney, Urological and Hematological Division. In addition to the 69 active employees identified on the morning of Monday, about 20 former employees recently dismissed for a probationary period or “Subject to strength reductions” They also added their names.
The protests took place at NIH headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. The restructuring of health agencies promoted by Kennedy resulted in the dismissal of approximately 5,000 employees and contractors of the Institute, as reported by the institution’s own members.
NIH employees ask Bhattacharya to restore delayed or canceled bags and do their legal duty to use the funds approved by Congress. In previous statements, the director had promised support for the agenda “Make America Healthy Again” of Kennedy, stating that this would mean concentrating the “Limited Resources” of the federal government in combating chronic diseases.
“I am much more concerned about the risks of not manifesting ourselves”declared Norton about his decision to publicly sign the letter. “There are very real concerns that they are asking us to perform possibly illegal activities and certainly unethical activities that violate our rules.”
Dr. Benjamin Feldman, scientist and lead director of the NIH Children’s Health and Human Health Institute, said he and other researchers want to collaborate with Bhattacharya to reverse the cuts. He stated: “This is really a blow to the entire biomedical research venture in the United States”.
The letter also expresses concerns about clinical trials that “They are being interrupted without taking into account the safety of participants, abruptly interrupting the medication or leaving participants with device implants without monitoring.”. Canceled contracts usually supported various aspects of research, from equipment to nursing teams.
The employees baptized their manifestation of “Bethesda Declaration”inspired by “Great Barrington Declaration” that Bhattacharya himself published in 2020. “Our hope is that, following the model of the declaration of Great Barrington, perhaps he is in our dissent”said Norton.
