On April 4, 2025, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown co-led a coalition of 16 attorneys general in suing the Trump Administration in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts over its unlawful attempt to disrupt grant funding issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The lawsuit challenges the Administration’s unreasonable and intentional delays in reviewing NIH grant applications, as well as its termination of hundreds of already-issued grants.

As a result of the Administration’s delays and terminations, the states alleged that their public research institutions have experienced significant harm. For example, the University of Massachusetts had 353 applications for NIH funding currently pending review, signifying approximately $848 million in potential grant funding that would aid in life-saving medical research. One such study aims to investigate a gene that could inform the development of new treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease.

The coalition argued that by postponing meetings, delaying the review of pending applications, failing to issue final recommendations, and terminating issued grants, NIH failed to meet its statutory obligations and violated applicable regulations.

On July 2, 2025, the district court ruled in favor of the plaintiff states, reinstating grants to those states only. The defendants declared their intention to appeal the ruling. But on August 21, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled via its shadow docket that even though it was not overturning the lower court’s decision that the grant terminations were unlawful, plaintiff states must instead challenge them in the Court of Federal Claims and that NIH could move ahead with grant cancellation in the interim.

When the Trump Administration unlawfully stalled the review process for NIH grant applications, lifesaving studies related to Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and other devastating illnesses were frozen indefinitely – stealing hope from countless families across the country and putting lives at risk. This agreement ensures that critical medical research projects are able to continue, paving the way for lifesaving medical advancements, driving job creation, and fostering academic competitiveness at Massachusetts’s world class research institutions. Attorney General Andrea Campbell