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Trump Budget Slashes NIH, Pell Grants, and Tribal College Funding; 336 NIH Staff Sign Protest Declaration

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Updated Jun 9, 2025, 12:52 PM

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The Trump administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 includes sweeping funding cuts to major federal science and education programs, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), higher education, and tribal colleges.

At the NIH, the budget would reduce funding for research grants from $26.7 billion to $15.1 billion, cut training fellowships from $1 billion to $655 million, and decrease internal research funding from $4.9 billion to $3.6 billion. Nearly 1,800 fewer new grants would be awarded, and 2,100 research grants valued at over $12 billion have already been terminated. More than 1,000 NIH employees have been dismissed, and the cuts have led to the abrupt halting of clinical trials, in some cases leaving patients without treatment.

In response, 336 NIH employees from across all 27 institutes and centers signed the "Bethesda Declaration," a letter addressed to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., denouncing the administration's actions as undermining the NIH mission, wasting public resources, and harming public health. The letter, which includes 92 public signatories and 258 current employees, calls for the restoration of terminated grants, reinstatement of dismissed workers, and a reversal of policies that have shifted research priorities away from health disparities, climate change, and LGBTQ+ issues. The declaration is supported by 17 Nobel laureates and former NIH leaders.

The administration's budget also proposes significant cuts to higher education funding. The maximum federal Pell Grant award, relied on by about 40% of undergraduates, would be reduced from $7,395 to $5,710 per year, the lowest level in over a decade. The cuts would also scale back the federal work-study program and raise eligibility requirements, potentially forcing millions of low- and moderate-income students to drop out or take on additional debt.

Tribal colleges and universities face a proposed funding cut of nearly 90%, from over $182 million to just $22 million, a reduction that education leaders warn could force the closure of most of the nation's 37 tribal colleges. These institutions, which serve Indigenous communities, are already chronically underfunded and rely heavily on federal support.

The proposed budget also includes a 20% reduction in funding for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), potentially impacting defenses against foreign cyber threats.

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