27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 7/26/26

Written By Cara AB

Hi NIH Vigilers and 27 UNIHTED Community,

Be strong.  Be strong.  When political oppression converges on us as a storm, remember that we are many in the dark—and the force of justice stands with us.

Here are the forces gathering this week:

Vigil “Auntie” News 

- The Good -

Legal challenges expose—and block—politically targeted grant cancellations

The Trump administration is beginning to admit in court what researchers and administrators have argued all along: federal grants were targeted for political reasons.  University of California (UC) researchers are asking a federal court to rule that agencies, including NIH, violated the Constitution by conditioning federal research support on ideological conformity.  As their lawyers put it, the agencies “identified the viewpoints they wanted to suppress, searched the grants they funded for those that expressed those viewpoints, and terminated those grants on that basis.” 

In related UC filings, the administration acknowledged cancelling 283 clean-energy grants totalling $7.6 billion in states that supported Kamala Harris in 2024, while leaving hundreds of comparable red-state grants untouched.  The revelation undercuts earlier claims that the projects were rejected on their merits and exposes a broader willingness to weaponize federal funding against political opponents.

The NIH admissions are especially meaningful for our community, which has sounded the alarm on banned words for over a year.  Court filings confirm that the agency used an internal search tool to flag UC grants containing terms including “health equity,” “work force diversity,” “structural racism,” and “sexual orientation.”  More than 1,000 were suspended or canceled—including research involving cancer, vaccines, and health disparities—not because investigators failed to perform the work, but through broadly applied and politically defined criteria.

These disclosures may strengthen the researchers’ case, especially after a federal judge ruled last week that agencies cannot use an obscure OMB clause to cancel grants simply because a new administration adopts different priorities after the awards are made.  That decision was a sweeping victory for 21 attorneys general and three governors who said the interpretation placed 1,100 active grants worth more than $5 billion at risk across scientific research, public safety, disaster preparedness, and other essential programs.

More Good News:

  • The latest installment of 27UNIHTED’s NIH director fact-check series contrasts Jay Bhattacharya’s claims about progress against HIV with NIH and administration policies that have disrupted HIV research, grant review, and public-health infrastructure.

  • Arbitrators are restoring telework and remote-work agreements for federal workers at the Forest Service and IRS, finding that blanket return-to-office mandates violated existing union contracts.  The rulings arrive alongside a Federal News Network survey in which 83% of self-selected respondents described the return-to-office experience negatively with 76% reporting lower productivity.

  • A federal judge pointed to the FDA’s repeated findings that mifepristone is safe and effective in ruling that the agency had not adequately justified Biden-era certification requirements that restrict who can prescribe and dispense the abortion drug.  The restrictions remain in place for now but the FDA has been ordered to reconsider them.

  • Resistance to OMB’s proposed grantmaking overhaul is real, but analysts caution that Regulations.gov’s 496,805 “comments received” tally may be inflated by an upload feature that lets users self-report how many people or organizations a comment represents.  The number of posted comments is currently 55,062 with an earlier analysis finding that 94% of those posted by July 9 were opposed to the rule.

- The Bad -

The Trump White House wants to remake science in Silicon Valley’s image

The White House is laying out a new vision for American science—one that favors AI, private-sector partnerships, rapid returns, and top-down political priorities over universities, peer review, and stable support for foundational research.  In Science: A New Golden Age, the Trump Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) calls the current system “calcified”: capable of discovery but inefficient at turning ideas into commercial products.  Its proposed cure reads like a Silicon Valley wishlist: start-up-style projects, prize competitions, “golden ticket” awards, expanded industry access to federal data, reduced oversight, and funding mechanisms that bypass the deliberative, expert-guided investments that have been the bedrock of American innovation.  Echoing OMB’s recent firestorm of a grant-rule proposal, the report also argues that federal science funding should be more politically accountable. 

Some of the problems OSTP identifies are real.  But critics note that the blueprint largely ignores how this administration has already destabilized science through workforce losses, delayed funding, and abrupt grant cancellations, appearing tone-deaf and DOGE-like in its obliviousness to the existing chaos.  It proposes moving more of the nation’s ~$200 billion annual research-and-development budget away from universities and toward private companies and individual investigators–privileging short-term measurable advances over careful scientific peer review and long-term outcomes.

The administration is already putting this strategy into practice through the Genesis Mission, with more than $5 billion now committed to AI-enabled science.  In a competition resembling “The Apprentice” more than the vital bricklaying of a research foundation, The Department of Energy has given 278 project teams nine months to demonstrate progress before the “winners” can compete for further funding in round 2.  The NIH-led Bio Genesis Mission will focus on chronic disease, pediatric cancer, and drug discovery, but the broader initiative heavily favors AI and physical-science priorities–as do many of Trump’s most prominent donors.

A big unanswered question is where all this money will come from.  With NIH, NSF, and other agencies already withholding or redirecting research funds, the fear is that Genesis could continue the pattern of cannibalizing investigator-initiated science to finance presidential priorities.  AI-enabled science deserves investment—but not at the expense of the research ecosystem that makes innovation possible.

NIH website overhaul raises concerns about lost information and political bias

According to the NIH website, “beginning in late July, NIH will begin introducing a new website experience designed to make it easier to find health information, research, funding opportunities, and other resources.”

Time will tell what the new website is like.  We can, however, gain some insight into what may be in store by examining recent changes to other science-related government websites.  Covid.gov used to be a place to find information about the covid pandemic and vaccines.  Now the website has transformed into a bizarre lab leak conspiracy theory site.  Climate.gov was shut down and now users are redirected to a website hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, noaa.gov/climate.  Former NOAA employees were so dismayed about the closing of climate.gov that they recreated their own version: climate.us.

These changes appear to be targeted towards informational pages rather than application or public-facing submission systems, and NIH claims to be working with Institute and Center (IC) experts to identify and migrate “appropriate” information.  It has also been reported, however, that staffing cuts have left some ICs unable to keep up with page maintenance.  Given the Trump administration’s track record on science-related websites, users have a right to be worried.

More Bad News:

- The Ugly -

Students (not always) welcome: new rule limits student visas to 4 years

The Trump administration is ending a 40-year policy that allowed international students to remain in the United States as long as they were enrolled and making progress.  The Department of Homeland Security has issued a new rule that limits the duration of F-1 student and J-1 exchange-visitor visas to four years.  After that four years, extensions would only be granted after "rigorous vetting.”  Although DHS claims the change is needed to combat “foreign student visa abuse,” it will greatly complicate the lives of researchers whose training does not fit neatly within four years.  Scientific Ph.D. programs commonly take five to seven years, adding a time-consuming immigration hurdle—and the risk of denial—in the middle of a degree.

The impact extends beyond students.  International scientists have historically composed more than 60% of NIH’s postdoctoral workforce, conducting hands-on research at the world’s largest biomedical research agency and helping sustain U.S. leadership in biomedical discovery and innovation.  NIH sponsors most postdoctoral fellows on J-1 visas, and Visiting Fellow appointments can last five years—meaning the new four-year limit could force a major segment of its research workforce to seek federal permission simply to complete the training and research NIH recruited them to perform.

DHS stated that it could not (would not?) estimate the effects of the new rule on the country’s ability to attract foreign talent or on the economic benefits of bringing foreign students to study at American institutions.  As one economist put it, students and trainees must now weigh “the largest investment of their lives” against the possibility that they will not be allowed to finish.  The new rule takes effect September 15.

More Ugly News:

  • NIH is terminating grants again, apparently testing a new legal strategy that cites specific but disputed “scientific” concerns after courts rejected its politically driven mass terminations last year as arbitrary and capricious.  Several health-disparities grants were marked for cancellation and held back from NIH’s renegotiation process, with one receiving a continuation award in June—containing a new termination clause—only to be canceled weeks later.

  • President Trump threatened to suspend or debar the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine from federal funding days after it released a report linking human-caused climate change to more frequent and intense extreme weather.  The President made ungrounded claims that the science was “fraudulent, biased, and misleading.”

  • A panel of FDA advisers recommended expanding access to four unapproved peptides despite agency scientists’ warnings that they have not been shown to be safe or effective.  The recommendation is nonbinding, but HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—a self-described “big fan” of peptides—may use it to justify wider availability, following FDA’s removal of 12 peptides from its “significant safety risks” category where they had been placed under the Biden administration. These changes are proposed without any additional evidence presented regarding their safety.  Prior to the vote, the panel was stacked with peptide-industry insiders who stand to benefit from expanded access.

  • The Trump administration is ending a CDC program that directly funds community-based HIV-prevention organizations, claiming that routing the money through state and local health departments will “streamline” funding and preserve local decision-making.  AIDS United is skeptical, arguing that the added layer could instead force trusted local programs to cut services or close, reducing access to HIV testing, PrEP, PEP, and care.

  • Federal public-health cuts are colliding with surging outbreaks: Michigan health departments are borrowing staff and abandoning some cyclospora investigations, while U.S. measles cases have reached a 35-year high as vaccination rates fall.

Science Interrupted

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released its 2026 Cancer Disparities Progress Report on June 24, documenting both decades of hard-won progress and what recent federal policy changes are now destroying.

“I have been conducting cancer disparities research for over 25 years…We were finally beginning to make some strides in closing the disparities gaps.  However, just in the past year, we are seeing this progress dismantle before our very eyes.”

What have we accomplished?  Since 1991, the U.S. cancer death rate has fallen 35%, preventing an estimated 4.8 million deaths.  The mortality gap between Black and White populations narrowed from 34% to 9%.  But survey data from this spring reveal a successful field under threat.  AACR conducted an anonymized online survey from April 8 to May 13 among people who had attended its cancer-disparities research conference between 2020 and 2025; 119 active researchers were included in the analysis. 

93% of survey respondents said that federal policy changes had affected their work, with at least half reporting disruption to ongoing projects, lost funding and/or support cuts for staff or collaborators.  NIH accounted for nearly 3/5 of those funding losses.  Most alarming for the future of the field, 56% had already shifted partly away from disparities-focused research or were seriously considering doing so. 

“My undergraduate students doing disparities research under the NIH RISE program were lost after the grant was discontinued… I also struggled with paying open access fees for 2 manuscripts and had no funding to go to AACR conferences.”

What we are losing, then, is not only individual grants and experiments, but trained staff, early-career trajectories, community partnerships, accumulated expertise, and an entire research workforce dedicated to understanding why lifesaving advances in cancer research fail to reach every patient equally–so we can build solutions to change that.

Read the full report here.

Reflection from the Community

“Major kudos to all of you who organize and participate in the NIH vigils and newsletter creation week after week.  Your presence and witness is so important. ❤️🙏🏻"

-EPA Declaration of Dissent Signer

Leadership Watch

NIH has appointed Acting Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) Courtney Aklin to permanent status, starting July 26.  Dr. Aklin is a clinical psychologist with decades of NIH leadership and administrative experience.  She lacks nursing credentials, which is a departure from previous directors, but has continued NINR’s emphasis on community-partnered research and structural drivers of health that was championed by her ousted predecessor Dr. Shannon Zenk.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee has delayed confirmation votes on CDC director nominee Erica Schwartz, citing insufficient Republican member availability, and Sean Kaufman for HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response–allegedly on concerns about his vaccine safety stance.

Upcoming Events

27 UNIHTED Events

Community Events

  • 7/29, 8:30 am - Former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci will testify under subpoena before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee at a hearing expected to focus on COVID-19’s origins and allegations involving federally funded gain-of-function research.

  • 7/29-7/30 - The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) will hear from NIH management and the NIH Fellows Union on an agency petition to disqualify the union on the argument the fellows are not workers.  If the FLRA rules in the agency’s favor, it would jeopardize the union contract, grievance process, and negotiated protections.  Contact NIH Fellows United for details on attending as an observer.

  • 7/31 - Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee meeting

  • 8/14, 10:00 am - 11:00 am - NIH videocast: Understanding NIH's Unified Funding Strategy: What the Research Community Needs to Know.  This new policy approach was announced last November and multiple IC Directors offered their perspectives in February.  Register through this form link. 

  • 8/18, 1:30 pm - NIH Small Business 101.  NIH is hosting a free webinar series on small business funding opportunities (SBIR/STTR) on Tuesdays at 1:30 pm ET.  The last, "Managing Foreign Risk," will occur on August 18.

Calls To Action

*Ending Soon* Should NIH cap simultaneously held research grants?

NIH has posted a new Request for Information notice that suggests limiting the number of research project grants (RPGs) that an individual investigator can hold simultaneously.  The intention is reasonable–to allow a larger number of researchers the opportunity to pursue their research ideas.  The suggested limits are 2, 3, or 4.  It is important to note that the proposal does not indicate exceptions for small grants or multiple PI grants.  Researchers’ feedback on this proposal seems to be mixed, so if you want to share your thoughts, submit your feedback by August 4.

*New* Apply for HHS Research-Integrity Funding by July 27

The HHS Office of Research Integrity is accepting applications through July 27 at 6:00 p.m. ET for three funding opportunities supporting research-integrity studies, conferences and workshops, and educational or evaluation initiatives.

*New* Submit Ideas for Future NIH Common Fund Priorities

NIH is seeking public input on cross-cutting biomedical and behavioral research challenges that could be addressed through workshops, pilot initiatives, or future NIH Common Fund programs.  Direct inquiries to: Common Fund Office-Office of the Director (OD), cf-ideas@mail.nih.gov. Responses are due September 19.

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.

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.. Current count: 2,292.  Learn more at www.impeachvought.com/

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 578 signatures.

Sign on for Scientific Integrity

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 here.

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.  Sign 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 3,590 public endorsements.

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. 

Wellness Weekly

Our somewhat serious community recommendations for self-care are:

  • Put lotion on your hands

  • Scream into the void (it’s not just a meme!)

  • Sing protest songs

In solidarity,

27 UNIHTED and NIH Vigils

Cara AB
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27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 7/19/26