NIH Vigils Newsletter 8/24/2025
FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS
CDC Letter in Response to Shooting
More than 750 current and former CDC, NIH, and other HHS staffers addressed a letter to RFK, Jr. and members of Congress in response to the Aug. 8 shooting at CDC that killed Officer David Rose. The letter accuses RFK, Jr. of spreading misinformation and sowing public mistrust that leads to violence against federal workers. ACTION ALERT: Read and sign on to the letter at https://www.savehhs.org/.
Pocket Rescission Unlikely
We feared Russell Vought would attempt to claw back NIH funding through a pocket rescission, but this now seems unlikely. Vought’s attempt to sell its legality to the public didn’t work, and his hand was slapped after unilaterally freezing NIH funds a couple weeks ago. This is a big win, and it shows that public outcry works.
NOW, THE BAD NEWS
SCOTUS Ruling
SCOTUS ruled that NIH could re-terminate $800 million in grants whose initial cancellation Judge Young called breathtakingly arbitrary and capricious and the most egregious case of racial discrimination he’d seen in his 40 years on the bench. This decision will hinder future lawsuits against grant terminations. This was expected but still devastating, and we will continue to fight.
Gender-Affirming Care for Federal Workers
In January, the Office of Personnel Management cancelled federal benefits coverage for gender-affirming care for minors. This week, they quietly expanded the cancellation to adults in a move expected to affect up to 14,000 trans federal workers and uncounted federal family members of trans people. However, they will cover counseling for gender dysphoria and faith-based counseling (i.e., conversion therapy). Lambda Legal wants to hear from federal employees who are affected by this policy change.
THINGS YOU CAN DO
ACTION ALERT: EPA Deregulation of Endangerment Finding
The Endangerment Finding is a 2009 declaration that says carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are a health threat, giving the EPA the legal power to regulate them. It enables regulations under the Clean Air Act for things like cars and power plants. The EPA administrator (Lee Zeldin) is a huge climate denier and is calling it the "largest deregulatory action in the history of America." The comment period has been extended to September 22. Suggested talking points at the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health.
What Else Can You Do?
Read and sign on to federal agency dissent letters:
Continue to call Congress including HELP, Energy and Commerce, and Appropriations Committee members - it does help! Stay aware of everything happening and share with your friends, family, and neighbors. Join us weekly, volunteer to help, and spread the word about the NIH Vigils and 27UNIHTED. More ideas at Indivisible.
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Keep up the good trouble, and stay safe out there.
In solidarity,
NIH Vigils