27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 6/21/26

Written By Amber Lock

Hi NIH Vigilers and 27 UNIHTED Community,

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."  — Frederick Douglass, abolitionist, author, and formerly enslaved American

Here are the power and demands we’re watching this week.

Vigil “Auntie” News 

- The Good -

27 UNIHTED members and NIH Workers in their personal capacity make our case in print.

In The Atlantic article “An Ascendant Constitutional Theory Is a Threat to American Science”, Mark Histed - a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Unit Chief - raises the alarm on OMB overreach, tracing a line from the unitary executive theory, championed by the administration and supported by the Supreme Court, to the latest proposed OMB rule change that sidelines peer review in favor of political control over grantmaking. Also, in “The 3-Pronged Attack on Scientific Communication” for Inside Higher Ed, Alexa Romberg and Sylvia Chou, who resigned in protest from NIH in December, describe the slippery slope of suppression and self-censorship in scientific communication, advising us to take three key lessons from the Bethesda Declaration: use your right to free speech, every bit of fighting effort counts, and grow a community of truth tellers.

Federal government reconsiders support for flu vaccines.

In April, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth eliminated the requirement for flu vaccinations in the armed forces, which we reported on with skepticism and dismay. In an entirely foreseeable consequence, an outbreak of influenza has hit ~160 recruits at the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where vaccination rates had fallen from 100 to 40%. Subsequently, the Pentagon has reversed course and granted exceptions to voluntary vaccination for the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Security Agency and Defense Health Agency. Just in time, it would seem, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee announced its support to approve Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine, which was previously rejected by the FDA under former Commissioner Marty Makary.

More good news:

- The Bad -

New federal grant rules would weaken U.S. science, threaten clinical trials.‍ ‍

The editors of the New England Journal of Medicine have spoken out against the recently proposed changes to the federal grant system. That May 29 proposal by OMB to change dozens of regulations would put political appointees, rather than scientific experts, in control of federal grant approvals. Proposed rule changes would also narrow who is eligible for grants, what they can study, and what are “allowable” uses of grant funding. The Guardian reported on an analysis from fellow advocacy organization Stand Up for Science that estimates nearly 5,000 NIH-funded clinical trials could be cancelled under the new rules for violations ranging from including disfavored terminology (e.g. “equity”) to being foreign collaborations. These proposed rules would be yet another blow to scientific research, in addition to grant disruptions/cancellations and ongoing scrutiny of specific words and phrases in grant applications.

HHS watchdog agency charged with protecting research participants is hobbled by staff cuts.

The HHS Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP), a small office charged with keeping research study participants safe, has lost key leaders and over half of its employees to reductions in force, retirements, and resignations. Originally designed for a 42-person staff, the office currently holds 10 employees, and no Division Directors, to oversee 13,000 institutions conducting HHS-supported human research. In addition, OHRP’s advisory council was disbanded last year. The severe understaffing has led to cuts in free research ethics training for both the public and staff as well as delays in oversight review of at least one institution where a study participant had previously died. Ethics advocates noted that the loss of OHRP staff expertise has weakened a critical partner on which state and local officials rely to help enforce clinical research safety rules.

More bad news:

  • NIH is advancing a proposal to cap the number of simultaneous research project grants per PI, echoing a 2017 proposal that drew strong scientific pushback.

  • Several UC Berkeley investigators have denied receiving foreign funding after NSF suspended nearly $21 million in research grants based on charges of failure to disclose non-U.S. research support.

  • FDA bypassed its own internal processes and scientific evidence to approve more nicotine products, days before Commissioner Makary’s resignation.

- The Ugly -

NIH virologists charged over inactivated mpox samples.‍ ‍

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged two NIH virologists with conspiracy to smuggle mpox virus into the U.S. from the Republic of the Congo; they have pleaded “not guilty.” The FBI tested some of the samples and confirmed they were inactivated and not infectious, supporting the scientists’ claim that they were harmless and to be used for routine diagnostics. This diagnostic work is part of the researchers’ work at NIH’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories, where they study how infectious diseases cross over from animals to humans. The scientists may face up to five years in prison if convicted. Dr. Angela Rasmussen, an expert on emerging viral pathogens, defended her colleagues in a substack, laying out the case that the samples were not subject to the stricter protocols needed for infectious virus. These arrests follow many years of attacks on infectious disease research and virologists, including statements by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary RFK Jr. asking for an eight-year long pause in infectious disease research, as well as the year-long closure of a major National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) research facility, threats made to scientists, and open gunfire at the CDC. You can read the DOJ’s claims against the NIH virologists in a June 2nd press release announcing the charges.

Federal government signals disregard for people with disabilities.‍ ‍

National Science Foundation (NSF) employees have been working from home lately as the agency prepares to move its headquarters to a new building. As that relocation begins, however, telework is coming to an end - a scheme some staff members say is being used to force workers with disabilities out. Despite the legal requirement for reasonable accommodations under the Rehabilitation Act, NSF employees have described slow agency communication and stressful demands on workers that have placed additional mental and physical health burdens on a vulnerable population of workers. And it’s not just federal agencies. The DOJ this week released an opinion that contradicts decades of legal interpretation on the rights of people with disabilities to avoid the discrimination of institutional isolation by receiving community- or home-based care. By contrast, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel argues that federal law does not require states to provide services to people with disabilities in integrated community settings and that segregation is discriminatory only when unjustified, a move that experts say will result in higher rates of institutionalization.

More ugly news:

  • The Education Department announced it has handed its responsibilities in special education and vocational rehabilitation to HHS and moved most of its Office for Civil Rights (which handles disability discrimination complaints in schools) to the Justice Department (see “Reflection from the Community” below).

  • Two long-shot anti-immigrant bills were introduced in Congress that would require U.S. citizenship for federal employment and overhaul the H-1B visa program to make it harder for foreign talent to contribute to American STEM success.

  • Global vaccine alliance Gavi (see “What We’ve Lost” May 25, 2026) agreed to accommodate HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s concerns about thimerosal—a vaccine preservative whose alleged harms have been repeatedly debunked by scientific and public-health authorities—in order to get Congressionally-appropriated funding that the HHS Secretary was holding hostage.

Science Interrupted

What We’ve Lost: The Next Generation of Scientists

It’s been a tough year-and-a-half for early career researchers - that up-and-coming generation of scientists working late into the night, surviving on caffeine and hope to make a place for themselves as future leaders in some unique area of uncharted research territory. The numbers show how federal funding cuts led to fewer STEM PhD admissions and postdoc appointments, how early career researchers were the hardest hit by grant cancellations, and how NIH staff shortages and a rapid transition to multi-year funding disadvantaged the new grant applications on which new researchers hung their hopes. Add to that anti-immigrant rhetoric, travel bans, student visa uncertainty, exorbitant H-1B visa fees, and newly proposed legislation that would close pathways for international students to remain working in the U.S., all of which threatens the stability of the scientific workforce and makes the U.S. unwelcoming for talented foreign national scientists.

It's no wonder that experts and journalists are wringing their hands over a U.S. “brain drain.” Because this isn’t a question of whether U.S.science is managing to limp along today, but rather a question of who will be left 10 or 20 years from now to contribute to this supposedly world-leading biomedical research enterprise.

A pair of studies out this week highlight the serious problem of America’s broken scientific talent pipeline. The Harvard Business Review surveyed 1,000 PhD and postdoctoral researchers across 134 institutions and found that between March and September 2025, more than a fifth had changed their minds about staying in the U.S. and/or in academia. AAAS also published the results of a 20-year project revealing that participation in two of NIH’s now cancelled undergraduate training programs (RISE and MARC) more than doubled the likelihood of participants completing a PhD. How much greater might that impact be if it also considered the myriad other training programs that the Trump administration has terminated, including some F31-Diversity predoctoral grants and the MOSAIC program? Ironically, we may never know, as funding for the AAAS-published study was also cancelled.

Reflection from the Community

“This week the Trump administration announced that it would offload two of the U.S. Department of Education's biggest responsibilities to other agencies….The Office of Special Education which manages programs that support students with disabilities and ensures that states follow the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which guarantees disabled students access to an equitable public education, is moving to HHS.

“Under Kennedy. The same man who said earlier this year that children with autism would never hold a job, play baseball, or go on a date. The same man who proposed sending young people with ADHD and other mental health conditions - categories of children served under special education - to "wellness farms," replacing psychiatric medications with manual labor, and "reparenting" as part of a holistic, natural approach to mental health.

“With this move, students requiring special education services will be viewed as medical conditions to be treated instead of children to be educated.”

-NIH Official/Mom of a kid with a 504 (soon to be two)

Leadership Watch

In addition to last week’s news on the appointment of Raymond Jacobson as Director of the NIH’s Center for Scientific Review, John H. Powers is now serving as Acting Director for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Powers has previously served as Deputy Director of NIAID.

While leadership turnover at the federal agencies has been relatively quiet the past couple of weeks, the New York Times published a piece on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reflecting on his “minimal engagement” with running the business of his agency. With persistent concerns about the leadership vacuum at NIH and other federal health agencies, a medical society revolt against his vaccine policies, and the loss of several Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) allies in top positions (e.g., Casey Means for Surgeon General and Marty Makary as FDA Director), rumors are circulating that Kennedy may be on his way out, though HHS has been quick to deny this.

Calls To Action

Ending Soon Protect free speech for current and former federal workers by June 26.

Comment on the proposed new non-disclosure agreement form for federal employees by June 26. Federal Register OPM-2026-0100. Currently at over 19,000 public comments.

New Endorse the Bethesda Declaration - One Year Later.

A year after the release of the original Bethesda Declaration, NIH staff remain concerned. The chaos of 2025 has been replaced with coordinated, systematic, institutionalized destruction in 2026. If you share these concerns, be counted as a supporter of the Bethesda Declaration: One Year Later. Learn more about the Bethesda Declaration Movement on 27 UNIHTED's Bethesda Declaration Hub.

New Stand with EPA scientists.

100+ EPA employees were fired for signing a Declaration of Dissent raising concerns about their working environment and recent policy changes. Sign the petition to support these silenced staff members who were retaliated against for speaking out to protect science and public health. Currently at over 500 signatures.

Stop the political takeover of research and let scientists follow the science, by July 13.

This is a 5-alarm fire! Comment on the proposed Federal Financial Assistance rule, individually and with specific detail. Former NIH Program Officer Liz Ginexi has drafted guidance on how to make your comments more effective. Federal Register OMB-2026-0034. Currently at over 37,000 public comments.

Sign on for Scientific Integrity.

With the rise of politicization in the federal workplace, something must be done to protect scientific independence! The Union of Concerned Scientists has drafted a letter of support for the Scientific Integrity Act, which has been reintroduced to the Senate. Let our leaders know that evidence-based decision-making is important to you by signing The Momentum for Scientific Integrity Action.

Stand up for the National Science Board.

On April 25, the Trump administration dismissed all sitting members of the National Science Board, an independent advisory group for the National Science Foundation. Fight back by signing this open letter to Congress from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine (NASEM), asking for the reinstatement of fired members and appointments for all vacant positions. 27 UNIHTED has added its organizational endorsement. Currently at 3,467 public supporters.

Impeach OMB Director Russell Vought.

Add your name (or anonymous voice) on the petition to urge Congress to impeach OMB Director Russell Vought for unlawfully dismantling government services Americans rely on. Currently at 1,947 signatures (almost at the 2,000 target).

Reach out to your members of Congress about issues that matter to you.

Some possible topics:

Help the NIH Community: Review a resume, host a job workshop, plan a happy hour, volunteer, and/or advocate with 27 UNIHTED. Check out the links on our website to take action and volunteer.

Upcoming Events

27 UNIHTED Events

Community Events

  • 6/22, 12 pm - Public Service Leadership Lab webinar. The Partnership for Public Service will host ”Leading Across Multiple Roles: Practical Strategies for Managing Competing Priorities” with current and former government leaders.

  • 6/23, 1 pm - Lost Science: A WCOM Conversation on the Dismantling of American Biomedical Research. Four former NIH staff and current 27 UNIHTED members (Larry Solomon, Liz Ginexi, Jenn Troyer, and Sylvia Chou) will discuss what’s happened at NIH over the past year. On the radio at WCOM 103.5 FM or livestream.

  • 6/23, 2 pm - OMB Comment webinar. The Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), Environmental Protection Network (EPN), and their partners will present a webinar on “Your Comment Counts: Challenging the OMB Proposal Threatening Federal Grant Recipients”.

  • Allstrike to play at upcoming events:

  • NIH Small Business 101. NIH is hosting a free webinar series on small business funding opportunities (SBIR/STTR).

    • 7/9 - America’s Seed Fund is Back (recording available)

    • 7/14 - Building Your Budget Tuesday, 1:30 pm ET

    • 8/18 - Managing Foreign Risk Tuesday, 1:30 pm ET

Wellness Weekly

Our somewhat serious community recommendations for self-care are:

  • Compliment a stranger on their outfit (respectfully)

  • Give your eyes a break by looking into the distance for a few minutes

  • Hydrate like you’re personally responsible for maintaining your local watershed

  • Donate to your favorite non-profit supporting biomedical research, public health, and the federal scientific workforce

In solidarity,

27 UNIHTED and NIH Vigils

Amber Lock
Next

27 UNIHTED/NIH Vigils Newsletter 6/13/26