A class action lawsuit was filed on Wednesday against the National Institutes of Health, with backing from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, among other organizations. The suit contends that the Trump administration has implemented a system using 235 keywords to identify and block grant funding for research topics deemed ideologically disfavored by the government.
Plaintiffs in the case include university-based researchers whose work has been affected by funding disruptions. Ann Cohen, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, described how cancellation of grant funding for her Alzheimer’s disease research forced her team to abruptly cancel appointments with research participants and halt data analysis, jeopardizing years of community relationships and scientific work. Arghavan Salles, a surgeon and clinical associate professor at Stanford University, stated that she can no longer accurately describe her research on gender equity and sexual harassment without using terminology flagged under the administration’s guidelines.
The lawsuit argues that the government’s actions constitute a violation of First Amendment protections against censorship. The ACLU contends that while the NIH may make decisions about funding priorities, the keyword-screening process adds an ideological layer of review that conflicts with statutory and regulatory requirements, and that the government cannot screen out projects based on anticipated viewpoints. The suit seeks to cover all researchers whose grants have not been restored through other court orders, as well as those whose grants have been delayed, denied, or required to be renegotiated.
According to Grant Witness data referenced in the lawsuit, the Trump administration began canceling thousands of grants across government agencies in 2025, disrupting more than 5,700 at the NIH. More than 4,500 of those grants have since been restored. Historically, NIH grants have been awarded through a scientific peer review process. The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
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