A Senate Committee report by minority staff, obtained by CNN, denounces the Trump administration for ending funds for research, firing thousands of federal workers and removing certain scientific data from government websites.
A minority staff report on the Senate Health, Education and Work Pensions Committee said it was released Tuesday and written by Senator Bernie Sanders I-vermont. That figure is much higher than another estimate that previously proposed target grant termination affected more than $1.8 billion for NIH.
The new report explaining the Trump administration’s actions as a “science war” is based on analysis conducted by minority staff on the Senate Help Committee, including funding data for the NIH grant and HHS self-report spreadsheets and other sources.
The 15-page report warns that the administration’s actions will “continue to reduced disease breakthroughs such as cancer and the threat of future infectious diseases, as well as the continued decline in trust in public institutions,” calling for an end to cuts in research funding.
The committee has released a report the day before it holds a hearing with US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to discuss the proposed budget for the 2026 US Department of Health and Human Services President Donald Trump.
One analysis found that federal funds to support cancer research were reduced by 31% from January to March compared to the same time frame last year.
“The American people don’t want to cut cancer research to reduce more taxes for billionaires,” Sanders said in an email regarding the new report.
“Let’s be clear. Trump’s science wars are not making America healthy again. It’s making Americans and people all over the world sick,” he said. “This has to be over. Congress, the scientific community, and the Americans have to get up and fight back.”
According to a new report, some of the cancelled NIH grants were intended to support cancer research as well as Alzheimer’s disease research, cardiovascular disease research, diabetes science and clinical trials of infectious diseases.
The categories of infectious diseases, mental and behavioral health, neurology and aging, maternal and reproductive health, and cancer describe the ending NIH funding of approximately $700 million, according to a new report.
The Trump administration has conducted a review of HHS restructuring and funding, resulting in a sudden suspension or cancellation of several NIH research grants. Part of the restructuring will involve the integration of 28 HHS institutions into 15 new divisions, including the new healthy American administration. The transformation of HHS shifts the division’s focus to addressing chronic diseases in the United States.
“At HHS, we are dedicated to restoring institutions to a tradition that maintains science based on gold standard evidence. As we start to make America healthy again, it is important to prioritize research that directly affects American health.” “As part of our mission to make America healthy again, we do not leave behind any turned stones in identifying the root causes of the chronic disease outbreak.”
Many of the NIH grants are tied to the Trump administration’s orders on research and institutions to comply with rules on diversity, equity and inclusion in order to receive federal funding. Hours after his second term, Trump signed an anti-DEI mission to declare diversity, equity, comprehensive efforts and language discriminatory.
The new Senate Committee’s minority report also raises concerns about access to scientific data and reducing HHS staff.
Analysis of the report shows that at least 175 public health datasets and 135 datasets from the Central HHS Data Portal have been removed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website in the US since January 20th.
In February, organising doctors filed a lawsuit against the US administration, seeking a temporary restraining order to restore websites and datasets. The judge has granted the motion for a temporary restraining order, but Trump officials have added a disclaimer to their website “falsely suggesting that datasets are inaccurate,” according to a new report.
Based on the public report, the report states that “at least 10,000 employees of the HHS agency have been fired, and an additional 10,000 have been retired, resigned or kicked out by managers.”
When plans for a restructuring of the HHS were announced in late March, Kennedy described them as an effort to make them possible for taxpayers at a lower cost and at a greater cost.
“We’re not just reducing bureaucratic sprawl, we’re reconciliating our organization with our core missions and new priorities in reverse the chronic disease epidemic,” he said at the time. “This overhaul is advantageous for both taxpayers and those whom HHS serves.”
Trump administration officials have not provided “written details about mass shootings” to staff in the Senate’s support minority, according to a new report.