On Monday, June 16, 2025, Judge William G. Young of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts declared that some of the Trump administration’s cuts to National Institutes of Health grants are “void and illegal” as arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Judge Young’s ruling came after a bench trial, in which Plaintiffs, represented by ECBAWM and co-Counsel ACLU, ACLU of Massachusetts, Protect Democracy, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, presented evidence of the Trump Administration’s political targeting of these grants, which began in March when the administration terminated a number of grants supporting research on topics such as health equity, racial disparities, gender identity and sexual orientation, vaccine hesitancy, and maternal health. Plaintiffs included researchers and associations who had lost their funding as a result of the grant terminations.

ECBAWM attorneys Matthew D. Brinckerhoff, Ilann Maazel, Max Selver, and Sydney Zazzaro are proud to work alongside other organizations fighting academic freedom, and research devoted to furthering justice.

Press:
“Trump’s Cuts to N.I.H. Grants Focused on Minority Groups Are Illegal, Judge Rules,” NYTimes
“Trump NIH cuts are ‘void,’ federal judge in Boston rules,” Boston Globe
“Judge orders NIH to restore research grants related to diversity,” Washington Post
“Federal Judge Deems Trump Administration’s Termination of NIH Grants Illegal,” ProPublica