Senator Murray Presses NIH Director on Trump’s Proposal to Cut Medical Research Funding to Pay for $1.5 Trillion War Budget

NIH Director declines to defend Trump's request to cut NIH funding while boosting defense budget by half a trillion dollars

***WATCH : Senator Murray's full questioning***

Washington, D.C. - Today-at a Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommitteehearing on the FY27 budget request for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, slammed Director Jay Bhattacharya for the decimation of NIH's research capacity under his leadership and pressed him on the president's proposal to slash medical research to help fund his requested half a trillion dollar increase in defense spending.

[TRUMP SEEKS CUTS TO MEDICAL RESEARCH TO FUND WARS ABROAD]

Senator Murray began by asking Dr. Bhattacharya about President Trump's proposal to slash billions of dollars in funding for research at the NIH to help fund his $1.5 trillion defense budget.

MURRAY: The NIH funding level is not just a number on a page. It really determines how much we can fund opportunities to discover the next lifesaving cures, whether it's for cancer, or Alzheimer's, or diabetes, and so much more-and that's why so many of us have fought so hard to boost NIH funding.

Between 2017 and 2023, we were able to increase NIH funding to support more than six thousand additional grants for research on childhood cancer, on dementia, and many other terrible diseases. Now, that was only possible because our overall non-defense budget was growing.

But now what we have in front of us is that Congressional Republicans have for years now held that domestic budget flat-and that meant NIH funding has also been essentially flat for the last three years, resulting in fewer grants and fewer cures. And the budget that we have now been presented by you and the president are literally asking Congress to cut NIH's budget by $6 billion in order to provide room to give Trump his $1.5 trillion war budget.

So, Dr. Bhattacharya, how do you justify cutting NIH research by billions to send a half a trillion more to the Pentagon? Do you personally support that?

BHATTACHARYA: Senator, the budget is obviously a major problem for this country. The NIH, my job is to make sure that my colleagues have the resources they need to fund the best biomedical research in this country. And I am really grateful to work with Congress and the administration to make sure that that's possible.

MURRAY: Well, you didn't really answer the question, and I know why. But I just-for all of us to understand, we are being asked to cut NIH by $6 billion, why? In order to provide a huge increase on the defense side.

And according to one estimate, it would take not even 2 percent of Trump's war budget to prepare candidate vaccines against active viral diseases. So, I hope this committee rejects that request and works to make sure that we provide opportunity for Americans when it comes to biomedical research.

[TRUMP ADMIN JEOPARDIZING PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS]

Senator Murray pressed Dr. Bhattacharya on U.S. preparedness for potential public health threats after NIH staffing has been decimated and vital research has been cancelled and delayed.

MURRAY: Doctor, we are now dealing with a hantavirus outbreak and a deeply concerning emerging Ebola outbreak. I am very concerned because there is a void of public health leadership from this Administration, especially as you now work to balance two roles, as we talked about yesterday, two full-time jobs.

With less funding, and fewer staff, and stalled research, can you credibly tell us that we are better prepared for public health threats than we were a year ago?

BHATTACHARYA: Senator what I can tell you is, as the acting director of the CDC, the last about two and half months, three months, what I have just encountered is absolute professionalism, a CDC public health staff who has devoted their lives to protecting this country and frankly the world from the kind of infectious diseases that you have seen. The hantavirus outbreak, for instance, which the CDC has played such an important role in addressing, is largely contained, in part because of the professionalism of the CDC employees that I've had the privilege to lead.

MURRAY: I don't doubt the professionalism and I greatly admire everybody who is doing this hard work. But the reality is, we are behind. I've just heard that at least eight of the top ten officials at NIAID are no longer in their roles, and that includes the institute's director, its top allergy and immunology scientist of nearly 30 years, and the microbiology and infectious disease director. We need to have those people on the job right now. And this is I think deeply concerning to all of us as we look at that.

And this administration has also terminated over 1,000 infectious disease research grants, terminated $500 million in promising mRNA vaccine contracts, our best bet for rapidly developing a vaccine as we are looking at hantavirus and Ebola. And so, I'm just really concerned that you have even terminated NIAID funding for a group that was studying the exact type of hantavirus that caused the deadly outbreak that we're dealing with right now.

We've lost 4,000 expert staff, I know you're scrambling to rehire, but it just seems like we've dismantled our infectious disease research and development pipeline, and we will pay the price.

BHATTACHARYA: So let me just address that. The NIAID is such an important part of the NIH, and for many years it has had civilian biodefense as among one of its goals. We have shifted the folks at NIAID to address diseases and conditions that people actually have including the hantavirus, including Ebola and so much else. We also have shifted the priorities to prioritize allergy and immunology. That shift means that we need some new leadership. The folks who you are talking about are still at the NIH, but they have been assigned to places where they can help with the changed mission of the NIAID to focus on infectious diseases and on allergy and immunology.

MURRAY: Well, I would say we need both. I'm very worried that these people have been taken out of NIAID.

BHATTACHARYA: Well civilian biodefense, I don't think the NIAID should play a leading role. We are a civilian agency and we should be focused on the threats to health that Americans actually face. So, for example, like ending the HIV epidemic. We need implementation science. So, I've asked the NIAID to bring scientists who are excellent at implementation science. Cause we have the tools we need, the technological tools. We just need to understand how to use them to end the HIV epidemic. That's going to mean a new set of scientists and expertise at the NIAID. We have had that, but I've just increased the emphasis on that. I want to use the NIAID for addressing the health needs of the country.

MURRAY: I hate to interrupt you, but I just am telling you we are watching this. It is deeply concerning. I know you are trying to justify it. But I think at a time when we are seeing these kinds of outbreaks, that it is disconcerting to all of us to see the public health side, of CDC, NIH, lose a lot of their experts.

[TRUMP SHORTCHANGING CHILDREN'S MEDICAL RESEARCH]

Senator Murray concluded by questioning Dr. Bhattacharya on the Trump administration's proposal to gut funding for the Pediatric Trials Network, leaving kids across the country in need of care without hope.

MURRAY: Let me ask you one other question. Because I want to ask you about the Pediatric Trials Network, which funds studies into safe use of medications for children.

Are you aware that last year's NIH Pediatric Trials Network received only part of its funding?

BHATTACHARYA: I know there are some contracting issues with it. I am absolutely committed to making sure that we do have opportunities for children across the country to participate in clinical trials.

MURRAY: Well, let me ask you specifically, because it received $11 million, that is $7 million less than in 2024, and researchers were told by NIH that this year's funding is going to be even less. In fact, researchers at Seattle Children's Hospital are going to have stop their work investigating how pain medications can be safely used to help some of our sickest children as they face surgery and hospitalization.

And this funding was cut because of an arbitrary, nonsense rule made by OMB Director Vought that caps spending on contracts. We have more than 4,000 children from 29 different states that are currently enrolled in active trials, including in my home state of Washington.

Do you know what will happen to all that data and infrastructure that was built to conduct these pediatric trials?

BHATTACHARYA: Senator, we make sure that any trial that's ending, make sure that we have the data from those trials as part of the contract process.

MURRAY: It is hundreds of samples have been wasted-that is what I'm being told. Blood samples from more than four hundred children and other tissue that was given selflessly. So, labs are closed and scientists across the country are really looking at what is being lost here. And the worst part is we have kids who are not able to receive evidence-based treatment. So, I am watching this and I am deeply concerned, and so are many families in my state.

BHATTACHARYA: Senator, we have invested in a new PICU, pediatric intensive care unit at the clinical center at the NIH campus so that we can expand our research on very, very sick kids. I'm absolutely committed to that.

MURRAY: I appreciate what you are saying there. But I'm telling you I'm seeing the reality on the ground at Seattle Children's that is deeply concerning.

BHATTACHARYA: I'm happy to connect with you to make sure that we can address that.

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NIH Director declines to defend Trump's request to cut NIH funding while boosting defense budget by half a trillion dollars

NIH Director declines to defend Trump's request to cut NIH funding while boosting defense budget by half a trillion dollars

NIH Director declines to defend Trump's request to cut NIH funding while boosting defense budget by half a trillion dollars

NIH Director declines to defend Trump's request to cut NIH funding while boosting defense budget by half a trillion dollars

NIH Director declines to defend Trump's request to cut NIH funding while boosting defense budget by half a trillion dollars