US judge blocks Defense Department from slashing federal research funding

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By Nate Raymond

BOSTON (Reuters) -A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration from carrying out steep cuts to federal research funding provided to universities by the U.S. Department of Defense.

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued a temporary restraining order at the behest of 12 schools including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University, as well as the Association of American Universities and two other academic trade groups.

Those schools sued on Monday to challenge a policy the Defense Department recently adopted to cap reimbursement for indirect research costs at 15%, an action that mirrored funding cuts announced by the National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Energy that judges in Boston have also blocked.

The funding cuts are part of the Trump administration’s wide-ranging efforts to slash government spending. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a May 14 memo said the new policy would save his department up to $900 million annually.

Indirect costs are often used to fund facilities, equipment and research staff that provide value across multiple research projects, rather than being tied to a single project.

The universities in their lawsuit argue that the 15% cap on reimbursement rates for those indirect costs flouted the regulatory regime governing them and Congress’ express directives.

Murphy, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, scheduled a July 2 hearing to consider issuing a longer-term preliminary injunction. The administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Chris Reese and Bill Berkrot)