Good scientists are leaving NIH.
Counter to the quote from HHS, NIH is struggling to recruit qualified scientists to replace them.
My own role sits empty. NIH cannot replace me since I am still employed but prevented from working.
This admin is gutting science.
www.cnn.com/2026/03/05/h...
The point is to destroy the administrative state, centers of knowledge and all civic institutions that stand in the way of Russell Vought’s vision of an authoritarian theocracy. It sounds insane and something out of Atwood. But this is where we are. Under his eye.
Please click here to send a letter to your Senator to oppose this nomination.
actionnetwork.org/letters/oppo...
www.statnews.com/2026/02/27/c... via @statnews.com
This piece by Elizabeth Ginexi is a must read. Trump, Vought, RFK and Bhattacharya are destroying the NIH simply ignoring the law and the US Congress. It’s illegal and immoral. The NIH Restructuring Congress Rejected Is Happening Anyway open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...
The US is broadly a country that likes to invest in science. Even among Republicans this is true. But we are governed by an administration that is opposed to science, and is using procedural tools to limit spending and increase political control over the process.
Congress rejected massive cuts to US science budgets for 2026, but much of the money still isn’t flowing to researchers.
The culprit? The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is quietly slow-walking the release of funds. 🧵👇
@altfda.altgov.info challenged us to list #5Things that each of us Alts think have caused the most damage in our agencies over the past year. Each of the five items is chock full of sub-items…adding up to far more “things.” Here goes.
NIH, CDC, HHS, and all of US cancer research and public health needed and still needs protection from Russell Vought and the P2025 White House.
The defining feature of 2025 at NIH was not merely grant changes.
It was unprecedented levels of presidential interference with NIH decision-making.
1/
"NIH has terminated or frozen 116 cancer research grants ($273 million), 65 Alzheimer's research grants ($94 million), 68 diabetes grants ($83 million), and 71 heart disease grants ($111 million)..."
www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
I think we have to be very careful here. The appropriations bills are one thing, but as you all know, this administration has a bag of dirty tricks they have and will continue to use to undermine research and frankly, methodically chip away at it until it is a shell of its former self. 1/
Why letting the Trump Admin reset our expectations will harm US science. 🧪
(If you’re celebrating a “win” on MYF you’ve been misled—MYF is still permitted in FY26, just capped at FY25 levels: 39%. that’s no win. It kills paylines and paves a path for block grants)
Stay sober. Stay alert. Stand up
The arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort underscore the gravity of this moment. This has never happened before in our history. We shouldn't pretend it's normal.
More reason for us to hold the line and demand a DHS budget that stops funding lawlessness.
"We cannot return to the old way of trying to ignore power and politics — if we do that, scientists will just be run over and US science will continue to collapse."
I could quote this all day, but please read the whole thing from @markhisted.org via @donmoyn.bsky.social (3/3)
"What works to stop fascism, the Twin Cities is showing us, is when everyone steps up. When everyone feels empowered, even if it’s just to blow a whistle or honk a horn or yell in the snow in slippers...
margaretkilljoy.substack.com/p/our-neighb...
The NIH budget bill passed the House. Now, it's bundled w/ DHS funding in the Senate. We are likely to see a fight this week.
New from me: things to know about the budget bill, NIH presidentialization, free speech, why science has been quiet, & more.
At "Can We Still Govern" @donmoyn.bsky.social 🧪
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
This video is basically my entire ethic.
The reason why people like @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social and myself are speaking up about science and democracy is this.
People who say taking action will only make things worse are arguing to let Trump do whatever he wants. But no. We can fight.
Don’t let Russell Vought trick Congress into destroying science by removing multiyear funding limits from the NIH funding bill.
Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic.
The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.
A reminder as Congress finalizes NIH appropriations: the bill must limit multiyear funding (MYF), Vought's way of cutting the NIH budget without cutting the budget. MYF will devastate the research workforce.
@safa-science.bsky.social wrote this in July. Still relevant: substack.com/@scienceandf...
Marco Rubio, 2016.
The appropriations bill that includes NIH is being finalized.
The Senate bill includes a bipartisan amendment from Senators Capito (WV) and Baldwin (WI) limiting multi-year funding of grants.
The House version does not and OMB has issued a veto threat if the House includes such language.
1/3
Goldman: Until DHS reins in this rogue and authoritarian ICE secret police force, there should be no more funding provided to DHS.
Murphy: The United States Congress should not fund a Department of Homeland Security that is not obeying the laws of the United States of America
Powell: “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
Map of event locations for #ICEforGood
We put out a call for #ICEOutForGood vigils 24 hours ago. There are now more than 1000 events taking place across the country this weekend. Find yours: www.mobilize.us?tag_ids=2913...
To be clear, @aaas.org is saying “things are not bad at all” in science on the same day this op-ed was published by former NIH-ers is on the nose.
Just a complete disconnection from reality on AAAS’ part. I hope members will hold them accountable.
www.statnews.com/2026/01/10/n...
Is there a single day—1 single day—when RFK Jr does NOT do something to dismantle public health?
This one is exceptionally grim—IMHO, the USPSTF is world-leading
As Dr Caroll says, if you ever got a free mammogram, colonoscopy, or HIV test, you can thank the USPSTF
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/w...
“As federal workers, we have a front-row seat to the harm a lawless administration inflicts on the American public. On January 7, 2025, that harm yet again took its most devastating form in the murder of Renee Good…”
open.substack.com/pub/sciencea...
