27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 3/1/26
Hi NIH Vigilers and 27 UNIHTED Community,
March is here!
Calls To Action
Sign a letter written by former and current feds letter urging Congress to impeach White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought
Fill out 27 UNIHTED’s survey about the February 2025 layoffs of probationary employees
Leave comments about proposed policies on the Federal Register or NIH’s website
Reach out to your Representatives about the issues that matter to you
Volunteer with us to help the NIH community
Upcoming Events
27 UNIHTED Events:
Weekly Peer Empowerment Call every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. ET
Weekly NIH Vigil every Saturday at 10:00 a.m. ET
Community events:
Rally to Take Back Science: Join Stand Up for Science on Saturday, March 7 in Washington, DC. Vigil Auntie and Bethesda Declaration signer Jenna Norton to speak.
No Kings Rally nationwide on Saturday, March 28.
Vigil “Auntie” News
OMB is stalling funding at NIH and other grant making institutions. Despite Congress appropriating funding to NIH on February 3, OMB has not yet authorized the release of these funds. Historically, agencies automatically and immediately are allowed to spend a 30-day portion of their annual funding. But OMB changed the fiscal year 2026 rules such that these 30-day portions can only pay essential expenses and not grant awards. This may set up the NIH for a pocket rescission.
RFK, Jr. ally Casey Means is under consideration for the position of Surgeon General. Congress held a confirmation hearing for Dr. Casey Means’s nomination as Surgeon General. Means, a wellness influencer and vaccine skeptic, did not complete her medical residency and never practiced as a physician. Currently, Means lacks the votes to be confirmed, with Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski undecided on their votes. Senator Bill Cassidy has not indicated how he will vote.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is collaborating with violent rapist Mike Tyson. HHS launched a new “whole food” campaign with Mike Tyson, who has been convicted previously of sexual assault and spent time in jail for assaulting two motorists following a traffic accident. The HHS campaign uses stigmatizing and shaming approaches that evidence suggests are not successful.
DOGE bros were caught using Chat GPT in grant reviews at the National Endowment for the Humanities. A complaint against the U.S. government alleges that DOGE staff asked Chat GPT if grants were DEI. The output of this process appears strikingly similar to the DOGE-led grant terminations at NIH.
A New York Times opinion piece by Jeneen Interlandi highlights Trump’s damage to science.
Wellness Weekly
Our somewhat serious community recommendations for self care are:
Go on a snowcrete scavenger hunt to find the most ridiculous patch still lingering in your neighborhood
Start preparing for the time change next weekend by shifting your bedtime by a few minutes each night
Count down to the spring equinox and prepare for t-shirt weather
Do a stretch every time you open a new browser tab
Positive News
Advocacy work stopped a harmful NIST policy excluding foreign scientists. In response to media and congressional attention, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has cancelled a policy that would have limited the ability of foreign-born researchers to conduct their work by placing a three-year limit on international graduate students and postdoctoral researchers working at NIST.
Vigil Aunties Mollie Manier and Anna Culbertson spoke at Progressive Democrats of America Town Hall, launching the Impeach Vought campaign. And Vigil Auntie Jenna Norton spoke as a guest of Senator Van Hollen at the People’s State of the Union.
In solidarity,
27 UNIHTED and NIH Vigils