Washington Update: Recent Executive Actions and Implications for Biomedical Research and Health

The first two months of the Trump Administration have seen significant actions shaping the 2025 legislative and policy landscape, particularly for fiscal negotiations in science, education, and academic medicine. Policymakers must navigate differing priorities and perspectives, which complicates negotiations to ensure continued operation of the federal government. Due to this environment, the impact on biomedical research and the workforce has become increasingly evident.

Personnel Changes at Federal Health Agencies

One of the most significant developments facing the scientific enterprise for the research community in the early months of President Trump’s second term has been the continued changes made to key personnel across vital health agencies. At the forefront, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) saw a transition in leadership with new appointments in positions that will heavily influence biomedical research policy. On February 13, the Senate voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the new head of HHS following a lengthy confirmation process where he emphasized his commitment to addressing chronic illnesses, including autoimmune diseases, neurological disorders, allergies, and obesity. At NIH, Matthew Memoli, MD, MS, was appointed as acting director on January 22, 2025, and will serve in this capacity until a director is confirmed by the U.S. Senate. On March 5, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing for Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, to be confirmed as the next Director of the NIH. The hearing covered a wide range of topics including the need to address public mistrust in scientific research, support for research on chronic diseases, and recent executive actions that have led to uncertainty across the agency. On Thursday, the Senate HELP committee will vote on Dr. Bhattacharya’s confirmation. 

The loss of several high-level staffers within NIH, many of whom were critical to overseeing the allocation of federal research funds across various presidential administrations, has created a vacuum in leadership across the agency. Lawrence Tabak, DDS, PhD, the former Principal Deputy Director of the NIH, retired from federal service last month after a long and distinguished career in public health, contributing significantly to biomedical research and leadership at NIH. Michael Lauer, MD, former Deputy Director for Extramural Research at NIH, resigned shortly following Dr. Tabak’s retirement. Francis Collins, MD, PhD, the former director of NIH and renowned geneticist who led the Human Genome Project, announced his retirement in early March. Along with such notable departures, hundreds of probationary employees have been terminated, raising concerns about potential disruptions to research initiatives that require stability and continuity.

Changes to NIH Policy & Grant Review Processes

Additionally, hundreds of NIH grant reviews remain on hold due to what seemingly is an extension of the broadly interpreted “communications freeze” at HHS, resulting in delayed study section reviews and advisory meetings. This abrupt implementation of various actions at once is contributing to a backlog in the number of new grants being awarded and announced. However, as agency personnel continue to settle into their roles, these issues are expected to be resolved.

A policy issue that posed a particularly consequential shift for research is a proposed change to cap facilities and administrative (F&A) costs to 15 percent across all research institutions funded by NIH. The proposed caps to F&A – also called indirect costs – were met with significant resistance and advocacy across the research community and led to three filed lawsuits. ASHG issued a statement on this issue, expressing deep concern that the policy change would severely limit essential resources for the biomedical research ecosystem. On March 5, U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley ordered a nationwide preliminary injunction in response to the Trump Administration’s policy. The plaintiffs successfully argued that the immediate effect of the policy was unlawful and would cause irreparable harm to medical research. This new ruling means that the policy is on hold indefinitely while the underlying lawsuit for permanent reversal proceeds; however, the Administration has indicated it will appeal the injunction ruling.

Stop-Gap Government Funding Expires March 14

Within the legislative branch, current challenges surrounding Congressional appropriations and a reconciliation package continue to pose obstacles for research funding. The fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bill that provides funding for NIH remains unresolved, with a Continuing Resolution (CR) in place maintaining flat funding levels until March 14. If Republicans and Democrats are unable to successfully negotiate top-line spending levels for the government, they will either need to extend stopgap funding through a full-year CR or the government will shut down. On March 8, House Republicans released a CR that would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2025. The proposed bill contains an approximately $6 billion increase above FY24 levels for defense while overall funding for nondefense programs would decrease by about $13 billion below FY24 levels, including the expected reduction to the NIH Innovation Fund which funds the All of Us Research Program. The legislation narrowly passed the House on Tuesday evening, sending it to the Senate ahead of Friday’s due date.  

ASHG will continue to monitor actions that will have an impact on federally funded science and keep our members updated on how to be effective advocates for human genetics and genomics research.