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Federal judge on the bench for 40 years Lambaste grants layoffs as “racists” and anti-LGBTQ.
A Federal Massachusetts judge said that Cups to subsidies from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Made by the administration of American president Donald Trump is “illegal” and “null” and has ordered that many subsidies are restored.
In a decision published on Monday, judge William Young canceled the layoffs that started at the end of February and declared that the NIH had violated the federal law by arbitrarily canceling more than $ 1 billion in research subsidies because of their link perceived with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (DEI).
Young told court that he doubts that the cuts represent “racial discrimination and discrimination against the American LGBTQ community”, according to quotes published on X by the journalist of Politico, Kyle Cheney.
In April, a group of researchers continued the NIH, saying that hundreds of critical research projects had been interrupted due to an “ideological purge”. The complainants argued that the reasons invoked for connections – links with “diversity, equity and inclusion” and “gender identity” – were vague and lacked concrete explanations.
The terminated subsidies included programs focused on women, racial minorities and health health, lesbian and transgender health, but also included studies on cancer, suicide of young people and bone health. The government has argued that the court does not have jurisdiction and that the NIH has the discretion to set its own priorities.
Young said he resettled subsidies that had been granted to organizations and states led by Democrats who have continued layoffs. And the judge strongly suggested that, as the case takes place, he could make a decision more radical.
Young, who was appointed by American president Ronald Reagan, offered a severe reprimand to the government, saying that during his 40 years on the bench, he had “never seen any evidence of racial discrimination like this”.
“ Did not take work to end the subsidies ”
The decision comes almost a week after Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), admitted that the Trump administration had gone too far in the reduction of biomedical research grants and said that efforts were underway to restore part of the funding
Bhattacharya made these remarks on Tuesday during an audience of the senatorial committee examining both the recent cuts to its agency and the deeper discounts offered by the White House in next year’s budget.
“I did not take this position to end the subsidies,” said the doctor and health economist, who left a professor at the University of Stanford to join the Trump administration.
“I took this work to make sure that we do the research that advances the health needs of the American people,” he said, adding that he had created an appeal process for scientists and laboratories whose research was affected and that the NIH had already “overthrowed a lot” of the cuts.
