A federal judge in Boston said Monday that the termination of the subsidies of the National Health Institutes for investigation on issues related to diversity by the administration of President Donald Trump was “null and illegal”, and accused the government of discriminating racial minorities and LGBT minorities.
The US district judge. William Young, during an unwry trial, said that NIH violated the federal law by arbitrarily canceling more than $ 1 billion in investigation grants due to its perceived connection with the initiatives of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Young said it was restoring the subsidies that had been granted to organizations and states led by Democrat who demanded for the endings. And the judge indicated that, as the case progresses, he could issue a more radical decision.
“This represents racial discrimination and discrimination against the United States LGBTQ community,” said Young, designated by former Republican President Ronald Reagan. “Any discrimination by our government is so incorrect that it requires that the court order it and at an appropriate time, I will.”
Referring to the termination of subsidies for investigation related to issues that involved racial minorities, the judge said he had had in the bank “he had never seen a record in which racial discrimination was so palpable.”
“You are stopping the people of color due to their color,” said the judge, referring to the Trump administration. “The Constitution will not allow that.”
Andrew Nixon, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States, said the agency defends its decision to end the financing for research “that prioritized ideological agendas on scientific rigor and significant results for the US people”, and is considering an appeal.
“Under the leadership of Secretary Kennedy and the Trump Administration, the HHS is committed to ensuring that taxpayers' dollars programs support in the practices based on standard evidence and science of gold, not driven by the divisive mandates of Dei or the gender ideology,” said Nixon in a statement, referring to the secretary of HHS Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Rachel Meleropol of the American Union of Civil Libertads, which represents the beneficiaries of the subsidy that he demanded, said that Young's ruling applies to hundreds of subsidies. The plaintiffs include the American Public Health Association, a membership organization for public health researchers and 16 states led by Massachusetts.
The NIH, the main world financier of biomedical and behavioral research, has completed 2,100 research grants for a total of around $ 9.5 billion and $ 2.6 billion in additions in contracts since Trump assumed the position in January, according to a letter that dozens of NIH employees signed last week, protesting the cuts.
Fund cuts are part of Trump's wide actions to remodel the government, reduce federal expenditure and put an end to government support for transgender medical care. The administration plans to reduce 10,000 jobs in health agencies, including NIH, have been temporarily blocked by another federal judge.
Trump has also signed a series of executive orders that require the agencies to ensure that subsidy funds do not promote the “gender ideology” and that they put an end to the support of what they see as DEI discriminatory programs. The conservative critics of the Dei programs have portrayed them as discriminatory against whites and certain others.
In line with Trump's policy agenda, NIH has instructed the staff to rescind subsidies financing for studies related to DEI programs, transgender problems, COVID-19 and ways to stop the vaccine vaccine and subsidies that could benefit Chinese universities.
The trial that young people celebrated on Monday only referred to some of the claims in consolidated demands on the cuts. The judge will consider others later.
Young said it would give the parties the opportunity to present more evidence before governing those statements and decide whether to restore subsidies beyond those granted to the plaintiffs.
The governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, in a statement said that Young's ruling was welcome, but that NIH's cuts had already stopped crucial research on cures for diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer's.
“He forced our research universities to fire staff and terminate doctoral offers. And he gave China and other foreign countries the opportunity to recruit our researchers, scientists and businessmen,” said Healey, a Democrat.
