In a move to defend the integrity of scientific research and education programs at home, Washington State, led by Attorney General Nick Brown, has launched a lawsuit against the Trump administration. This legal action, joined by a coalition of 15 other state attorneys general, targets what they deem illegal maneuvers by the administration to slash essential funding and programs supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), as reported by the Washington State Attorney General's Office.
At the heart of the contention is the NSF's recent policy changes, which include ending projects dedicated to increasing the participation of women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities in STEM and imposing a restrictive 15 percent cap on the indirect costs of research. These costs cover vital aspects such as lab space and equipment. The new directives, which started taking effect on April 18, purportedly endanger the breadth of scientific innovation in the United States, impacting everything from national security to public health and economic growth.
"Washington’s college and university system is at the forefront of critical research and emerging technologies, and relies heavily on support from the National Science Foundation," Brown said in a statement from the Washington State Attorney General's Office, underscoring the importance of NSF support for local institutions. He added, "The Trump administration does not have the authority to unilaterally cut NSF grants, and their terminations threaten our national security and economic dominance."
Additionally, concerns have been raised regarding the NSF's role in fostering diversity within the STEM workforce. NSF programs aimed at increasing the representation of historically marginalized groups in STEM fields have been recognized as impactful, with significant growth in women and people of color taking science and engineering roles or earning degrees in these disciplines. As the lawsuit points out, these achievements are now at risk due to the NSF’s decision to cancel various diversity-focused projects.
The coalition, in legal documents, contends that the NSF’s cost-capping measure could be catastrophic for scientific research at academic institutions across the nation, akin to earlier attempts to impose similar caps on grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy (DOE). Courts had previously halted these initiatives, partially as a result of litigation initiated by Attorney General Brown and his peers. The present lawsuit claims that the NSF’s actions violate both the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution by neglecting Congress’s directives on the agency's scope and operations.
Among those standing with Washington in this legal challenge are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Their collective effort now seeks a court ruling to declare the NSF’s new policies unlawful and to prevent them from being enacted, as per the information revealed by the Washington State Attorney General's Office.
