The Justice Department (DOJ) on Thursday filed an emergency request to the Supreme Court, asking it to lift a lower court’s block on the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) decisions to cancel health grants related to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The NIH began canceling grants in March that it claimed were spent on projects like studies on transgender healthcare, vaccine hesitancy, and diversity research, arguing the grants no longer aligned with the agency’s priorities under President Donald Trump. However, U.S. District Judge William Young ruled last month that the NIH’s decisions violated the Constitution.
The DOJ asked the court for an emergency stay on the order, which would allow the cancellations to resume while the appeals process plays out, according to The Hill.
“The district court’s order directs the NIH to continue paying $783 million in federal grants that are undisputedly counter to the Administration’s priorities,” federal attorneys wrote in the filing. “Following the change in Administration, the NIH identified, explained, and pursued new funding priorities.”
“That is democracy at work, not, as the district court thought, proof of inappropriate ‘partisan[ship]’ let alone a permissible basis for setting agency action aside,” the lawyers added.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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