Collins fights Trump’s medical research funding cuts

Listen To Story Above

Senator Susan Collins publicly opposed the Trump administration’s new cap on indirect costs for National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants on Monday, marking the first Republican resistance to the president’s budget reduction measures.

The NIH’s Friday announcement outlined a new 15% limit on grant funds allocated to overhead expenses, a move projected to generate annual savings of $4 billion.

“I oppose the poorly conceived directive imposing an arbitrary cap on the indirect costs that are part of NIH grants and negotiated between the grant recipient and NIH,” Collins (R-Maine) stated on Monday, noting she had received numerous concerns from Maine institutions over the weekend.

Susan Collins called RFK Jr., whose confirmation vote is expected this week, to talk about cuts to NIH indirect funding. pic.twitter.com/u7ku5Hncm5

— Leigh Ann Caldwell (@LACaldwellDC) February 10, 2025

“This morning, I called Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, to express my strong opposition to these arbitrary cuts in funding for vital research at our Maine institutions, which are known for their excellence,” she continued.

The 72-year-old senator, who hasn’t declared her position on Kennedy’s confirmation, indicated that the nominee promised to review the policy implemented before his confirmation process.

Previously, some research organizations had charged the federal government additional indirect costs reaching up to 60% of their grant awards, while recent documentation indicated an average range between 27% and 28%.

According to NIH calculations, approximately $9 billion of the $35 billion in grants distributed during fiscal year 2023 went toward non-research expenses such as staffing, accounting, facility maintenance, and equipment.

Collins, who leads the Senate Appropriations Committee and faces potential re-election challenges in 2026, expressed worry about the retroactive application of the cap and its potentially harmful impact on medical advances.

“There is no investment that pays greater dividends to American families than our investment in biomedical research,” she stated Monday.

GOP Sen. Susan Collins rails against ‘poorly conceived’ cap on NIH grant costs meant to save $4B https://t.co/KNpEBsknhG pic.twitter.com/PN46sprSNv

— New York Post (@nypost) February 10, 2025

The new NIH policy faced immediate legal challenge when 22 states filed a lawsuit in Boston federal court Monday, claiming the “effects of the Rate Change Notice will be immediate and devastating” and would result in the “suspension of clinical trials, disruption of ongoing research programs, and laboratory programs.”

The initiative is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to reduce government spending through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Collins has previously expressed support for Musk, commenting at a No Labels event last year: “I had an excellent, 70-minute meeting with Elon Musk and I was very impressed. I think having this outside perspective from Elon … may well come up with some very valuable ideas.”

The senator also recently supported the confirmation of Russ Vought, a proponent of Trump’s cost-cutting agenda and Musk ally, as head of the White House Office of Management and Budget.