NIH Chief Defends Trump’s $5 Billion Cut Plan as Senate Questions 27-Institute Overhaul
Updated
Updated · STAT · May 21
NIH Chief Defends Trump’s $5 Billion Cut Plan as Senate Questions 27-Institute Overhaul
5 articles · Updated · STAT · May 21
Jay Bhattacharya appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday to address Trump’s 2027 NIH budget proposal, which would cut the agency by $5 billion and eliminate five of its 27 institutes.
Lawmakers are expected to resist the plan after strongly rebuking Trump’s steeper 2026 proposal, but researchers say the agency is already under strain from tighter grant funding and slower spending.
A STAT survey found 43% of NIH-funded researchers canceled planned projects, about half scaled back research, and more than a quarter laid off lab members.
NIH had allocated $10.09 billion of its $47 billion 2026 budget by May 17, well below the $14.75 billion average spent by that point in 2021-2024.
The hearing also highlights management gaps at NIH: only 12 institute directors are permanent, and senators have raised concerns that 15 of the 27 institutes are run by acting leaders.
How are administrative actions quietly reshaping American science, regardless of the public budget debate?
With grant success rates at a 30-year low, what is the future for America's next generation of scientists?
As the US cuts science funding, how will it compete with China’s investment in brain-computer interface technology?