27 UNIHTED/NIH Vigils Newsletter 6/7/26

Written By Cara AB

Hi NIH Vigilers and 27 UNIHTED Community,

"Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” — John Lewis, civil rights leader.  Here’s what’s worth making some trouble over this week.

Vigil “Auntie” News 

- The Good -

27 UNIHTED - The Probationary Project Part 2.

This year, we worked with a team of 40+ volunteers to survey federal employees who were fired during their probationary periods last year.  We released part 1 of the results in May, focused on mental health, institutional and career impacts.  These outcomes were covered in multiple media outlets, including this week’s article from The Guardian, which characterized fired workers symptoms as “PTSD-like”.  Now we’ve released Part 2.  Get to know the characteristics of the self-selected survey respondents and their communications with government officials during and after their termination. 

House bill rejects Trump’s plan to slash NIH budget.

The President’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 cut the NIH budget and capped indirect costs (research grant money that pays for administrative and facilities type expenses) at 15%, despite a court order barring such across-the-board limitations.  The House has rejected these suggestions in its new draft bill,  slightly increasing NIH funding and permitting overhead grant caps of 30% only at a select few well-endowed institutes.  It’s great to see Congress pushing back on White House attempts to further hobble the world’s largest funder of biomedical research but worries remain.  The bill does not address NIH’s increasing use of multi-year funding, which disadvantages new applications and early career researchers.  It also contains broad political-pandering language banning gain-of-function research and restricting “painful biomedical research on cats and dogs”, which are already tightly regulated. 

- The Bad -

Political interference in research funding - scientists and the public speak out.

Yes, we’re still talking about that new rule proposal from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)!  The outcry against Russell Vought’s attempted takeover of federal research funding is growing ever stronger.  One of the most prestigious science journals in the world, Science, published an editorial this week condemning the recently proposed changes to federal grants rules.  Another top journal, Nature, reported on researchers’ concerns on its website, while CNN featured scientists’ assessments of how the rules would harm addiction science and climate research.  Most criticisms focus on how the proposed rule changes would sideline scientific peer review and subject every grant to scrutiny by a political appointee.  Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny, spoke about this attempt to make U.S. research non-functional at Stand Up for Science’s Emergency Science Meeting last Tuesday.  27U community member Liz Ginexi, whose breakdown of the lengthy OMB proposal kicked off this firestorm for many, has a new piece out, expanding on the threats the proposal poses to those outside the immediate research community.

HHS overrides peer review to rewrite NIH science. 

The journal Science reported evidence that research grants, already approved by NIH,  are now going through an additional HHS screening by unknown staffers who may lack topic-area or even basic scientific expertise.  These reviews have sometimes requested unfeasible changes that speak to a lack of fundamental understanding about scientific research, such as recommending the introduction of genetic influence evaluation to an observational study in its 4th year, or attempts at political steering by asking for additional justifications and alternate causal factors in studies about obesity in minority populations.  Notably, this additional layer of review comes on top of the enhanced topic and banned-words screening already being implemented in the new “normal” NIH grant approval review process. 

- The Ugly -

Schedule F arrives: 8,000 civil servants made ‘at-will’. 

An Executive Order released June 3 details the “first wave” of positions that will be stripped of civil service protections.  This revived Schedule F classification, now called Schedule Policy/Career, turns designated civil servants into ‘at-will’ employees, removing restrictions on termination only in cases of misconduct or inadequate performance and stripping the right to appeal.  This order targeted 8,000 individuals and at least 15 position types at the NIH, including all branch and division directors.  White House officials have claimed they have no immediate plans for additional re-classifications but noted the President could add more in the future, with officials previously estimating as many as 50,000 positions might be impacted.  Responses from health experts, scientists, and union activists have characterized the move as an attempt to silence critics of the ongoing destruction at federal agencies and to empower the Executive Branch to more easily replace career civil servants with political actors.

Science Interrupted

Reflection from the Community

Much has been written about the damaging impacts of multi-year awards on federal research budgets.  Whatever gains in stability might be realized for a few institutions/investigators, the overall effect would be to shrink scientific innovation, shrink the scientific workforce, and enhance the effects of political interference.

-Josh Fessel, PhD, Former NIH Program Director and Chief Medical Officer

Leadership Watch

NIH has named pediatric neurosurgeon Steven Schiff as the new director of the Fogarty International Center. The move has been lauded by the scientific community given Dr. Schiff’s professional credentials and historical involvement in global health initiatives.  He will oversee a $95 million annual budget to facilitate collaborations between U.S. and international investigators, including both research grants and training programs.  Following the appointment of Jonathan Green as CEO of the Clinical Center in April, that raises the number of permanent NIH Center and Institute heads to 12 (out of 27). 

Calls To Action

Fight back for academic freedom of expression.

Sign the change.org open letter petition asking the American Diabetes Association to apologize to the scientists ousted from their annual conference for handing out copies of their own journal’s editorial and “to commit to a policy of freedom of expression and scientific inquiry at all times.” 

Protect free speech for 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. 

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.

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 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.  Fight back by signing this open letter to Congress from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine, asking for the reinstatement of fired members and appointments for all vacant positions.  27 UNIHTED has added its organizational endorsement.

Add your name (or anonymous voice) on the petition to urge Congress to impeach OMB DirectorRussell Vought for unlawfully dismantling government services Americans rely on.  The Impeach Vought campaign has 1,900+ of its desired 2,000 signatures!  Share the link with friends.

Reach out to your members of Congressabout 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

  • 6/9-10 - For those with an interest in public health policy and advocacy, the American Public Health Association will hold their Policy Action Institute June 9–10 in Arlington, VA and online with an optional Hill Day on June 11.  27 UNIHTED member Alexa will share her scientific advocacy story on 6/10 at 2 pm.  Discounts available for federal agency members and students.  Registration required. 

  • 6/13 - Non-cooperation has been used by movements across history to leverage social change.  Learn how and why at Free DC’s Non-Cooperation Theory + Practice workshop.  Saturday, June 13, 12:00 PM.  Washington DC.  Free DC’s “Campaign Orientation” training is a required pre-requisite. 

  • 6/23 - 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, Sylvia Chou)  will discuss what’s happened at NIH over the past year.  WCOM 103.5 FM, 1-2pm ET.

  • 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, 1:30 pm ET

    • 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:

  • Take a night walk before bed

  • Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning

  • Buy one aggressively seasonal fruit and make it your whole personality

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

In solidarity,

27 UNIHTED and NIH Vigils

Cara AB
Next

27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 5/31/26