Scientists with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a letter called the Bethesda Declaration criticizing agency cuts directed by the Trump administration.
Addressed to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, the letter claims the administration’s policies “undermine the NIH mission, waste public resources, and harm the health of Americans and people across the globe.”
“We are compelled to speak up when our leadership prioritizes political momentum over human safety and faithful stewardship of public resources,” the employees declare, going on to list several of their “concerns.”
Under Bhattacharya’s leadership, the NIH has allegedly politicized research by “halting high-quality, peer reviewed grants and contracts,” the letter says,” arguing that the topics of “gender identity, sexual health, and the needs of intersex people in the U.S.” require research attention.
According to the employees, the termination of 2,100 research grants totaling nearly $9.5 billion, as well as another $2.6 billion in contracts, dismisses “years of hard work.” The letter’s signatories also condemned the lack of funding for studies into “climate change.”
“Substantial evidence shows human-driven climate change leads to higher rates of disease and death, such as asthma, heart disease, and stillbirths,” the letter reads. “Research is critical to find effective ways to reduce these and other health impacts of climate change.”
“We urge you as NIH Director to restore grants delayed or terminated for political reasons so that life-saving science can continue,” the letter implores.
More than 2,300 people have signed the letter.
Earlier this year, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) canceled several NIH grants, including over half a million dollars allocated to a “pregnancy prevention program for transgender boys.”
