DOGE Slashes NIH Funding, Threatening Medical Research and Public Health

DOGE (Department of Government EXTINCTION) TRACKER UPDATE

DOGE v. NIH

📅 Date: February 8, 2025
📰 Action:

In a sweeping attack on America’s scientific infrastructure, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has orchestrated a massive funding cut at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH announced a drastic reduction in reimbursements for research overhead costs, slashing the indirect funding cap from an average of nearly 30% to a meager 15%. This move, set to save $4 billion annually, jeopardizes the very foundation of biomedical research across the country.

The cuts hit universities hardest, especially those like Harvard, which previously received up to 69% in overhead funding. These funds are critical for maintaining labs, facilities, and administrative support for research projects that drive innovations in medicine and public health.

🔍 Consequences:

• Stifling Medical Breakthroughs: Cutting overhead funding directly undermines the infrastructure supporting critical research, halting progress on life-saving treatments and innovations.

• University Closures and Tuition Hikes: With billions slashed from their budgets, universities face the impossible choice of cutting research programs or raising tuition, further limiting access to higher education.

• Political Weaponization of Science: This isn’t about “efficiency”—it’s about targeting institutions that the Trump administration and Musk’s cronies see as bastions of progressive thought. By gutting funding, they’re dismantling the scientific community’s ability to challenge misinformation and fight public health crises.

• Global Competitiveness at Risk: While the U.S. guts its research infrastructure, other countries will surge ahead in medical innovation. This isn’t just academic—it’s a national security threat.

🚨 Why This Matters:

This isn’t a budget cut. It’s a calculated attack on America’s future. Biomedical research isn’t just about scientific curiosity—it’s the backbone of public health, national security, and economic growth. By slashing NIH funding, DOGE is dismantling the systems that keep Americans healthy and the country competitive on the global stage.

This is how authoritarian regimes tighten their grip—by silencing scientists, cutting off funding, and eroding the institutions that challenge their narrative. If they can decimate scientific research today, what’s next? Education? Public health programs? The very knowledge that empowers us to resist?

📌 Sources:

• Politico: NIH slashes funding for research overhead, leaving universities scrambling

• Forbes: New NIH ‘Indirect Costs’ Funding Cuts Threaten Universities, Science

• Science: NIH slashes overhead payments for research, sparking outrage

• Bloomberg: Outcry as NIH Plans $4Billion Cut to Reimburse Scientists

• The Guardian: Trump administration to cut billions in medical research funding