A federal judge on Friday extended a temporary block of the Trump administration’s drastic cuts in medical research funding that many scientists say will endanger patients and delay new lifesaving discoveries.
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00:00The judge has essentially kicked the can down the road, but for now, she's blocked
00:08the Trump administration's unilateral reduction of the NIH indirect rates, capped at 15%.
00:17And she's going to decide whether to make it a permanent injunction.
00:21But whatever she decides, it's not going to be the end of the story.
00:27It's going to be appealed probably all the way up to the Supreme Court,
00:33because it's of enormous consequence to the United States and to the rule of law.
00:41The United States, through Congress, developed these close partnerships with
00:48universities around the country to build up their scientific enterprise.
00:54And they need indirect rates to be able to develop laboratories, young career scientists
01:04in training, and to do all of the things that keeps the computers humming and the lights on.
01:11I think the Trump administration and NIH don't really have a legal leg to stand on
01:19for many, many reasons.
01:21To begin with, it applies to contracts we've already signed with universities around the
01:29country. Congress itself understands why this is so important to American
01:37innovation and our economy, and have required the NIH to do these kind of individualized
01:46negotiations with universities for indirect rates.
01:51So it would be breaking a law that Congress has passed.