Members press HHS on NIH grant terminations and reported clinical-trial disruptions after court ruling

Representative Diana DeGette and other Democrats told the committee the department’s actions to cancel and freeze grants have forced research labs to close and delayed clinical trials. DeGette cited a June federal judge’s decision that vacated a large swath of NIH grant terminations and ordered grants to resume. ‘‘Judge William Young… said that the administration's explanations for terminating the grants were, quote, bereft of reasoning virtually in their entirety,’’ DeGette told the committee, summarizing the court’s findings.

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the panel he will ‘‘comply with the law’’ when asked whether the department would follow the court’s ruling. He defended a shift in NIH priorities toward studies he characterized as more directly related to chronic-disease drivers—nutrition, environmental exposures and mitochondrial function—and criticized examples of grants he said addressed topics he considered peripheral to those priorities.

Committee members cited specific disruptions. Representative Raul Ruiz and others described news reports and researchers’ statements that the commission report (the MAHA assessment) contained mistakes and that some NIH-funded Alzheimer’s research centers and trials had been affected by funding uncertainty. Members said dozens of Alzheimer’s centers experienced funding interruptions and that some centers’ renewals are due in 2026.

Representative Brett Guthrie asked whether the litigation limited discussion of reductions in force; Kennedy said litigation and injunctions had constrained HHS’ ability to implement RIFs and that some employees were on administrative leave until injunctions were lifted. Kennedy also said he had returned staff to operationally critical roles where gaps had emerged.

On HIV research, Representative Troy Carter and others described a reported stop-work order affecting sites in adolescent HIV research networks and an apparent termination of certain HIV vaccine studies; Kennedy said he had not personally made each termination decision and disputed characterizations that the department had ended clinical trials broadly.

The committee entered several news articles and third-party letters into the record describing alleged terminations and researchers’ objections. Members asked for written follow‑up and documentary evidence to reconcile the department’s public statements with grant and trial status.

Ending: Members recommended continued oversight. The hearing record will be used by multiple members to request further documents and written responses from HHS.