National Institutes of Health

(NIH)

Department of Health and Human Services

Proposed Cut

$5.0B

% Reduction

11.0%

Action Type

reduction

Who Is Served

22,000+ NIH-funded researchers; 300,000+ research personnel nationwide; patients benefiting from biomedical research

Summary

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the main federal agency funding medical and health research at universities, hospitals, and labs across the country. The FY2027 budget proposes cutting NIH funding by $5,000 million, an 11% reduction, largely by capping how much grant money goes toward "indirect costs" like lab space, utilities, and administrative support, while redirecting remaining funds toward what the administration calls "high-priority" disease research.

Who Is Affected

The cut would touch more than 22,000 NIH-funded researchers and over 300,000 research support staff nationwide, including lab technicians, graduate students, and administrative teams at universities and medical centers. Research-intensive universities are especially exposed because their negotiated indirect cost rates often run between 30% and 70%, far above the capped rate the administration has pushed, meaning some schools could lose a large share of their overhead reimbursement on top of the direct funding cut.

What this cut would actually mean

If this cut takes effect, universities and hospitals would likely fund fewer new research grants, delay or cancel clinical trials, and in some cases lay off lab staff or close research cores that keep buildings, equipment, and safety compliance running. Patients could see slower progress on treatments for cancer, Alzheimer's, and rare diseases because fewer studies get started, and some early-career scientists may leave research altogether as training grants and postdoc positions shrink.

Sources

The Cost of the Trump Administration's Attacks on Research Funding — Describes the FY2027 budget request's proposed cuts to NIH and other science agencies, including an across-the-board cap on indirect costs.
White House Once Again Proposes Massive Cuts to Scientific Research and Education — Association of American Universities summary of the FY2027 budget proposal's NIH funding levels and impact on research institutions.
Slasher sequel: Trump again proposes major cuts to U.S. science spending — Science/AAAS coverage of the FY2027 proposal's effects on NIH grants and disease research, including reactions from patient advocacy groups.
NIH's 15% cap: a cost comparison and research outlook — Peer-reviewed analysis of how capping NIH indirect cost reimbursement at 15% affects research-intensive universities, which typically negotiate rates of 30-70%.
Event examines importance of key slice of research funding, what NIH's indirect cost cap might mean — ASU News report citing research estimating universities could lose 15-20% of annual NIH funding on average under the indirect cost cap.