The Sconi

Attorney General Josh Kaul has responded to a decision by Judge Angel Kelley of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to extend a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). This order blocks the Trump Administration's proposed cuts to funding that supports medical and public health research at universities and research institutions nationwide.

"The extension of the TRO means that, at least in the short term, the Trump administration will continue to be blocked from implementing cuts that would be devastating to research that helps save lives," said AG Kaul. "While we will continue fighting these unlawful cuts, it’s critical that the Trump administration reconsiders these destructive, short-sighted, and arbitrary cuts."

The potential funding cuts could jeopardize lifesaving research, including clinical trials, affecting universities in Wisconsin and across the nation. These institutions are pivotal in conducting cutting-edge research and training future researchers. The National Institutes of Health-funded research has led to new treatments for various diseases such as cancer, ALS, Parkinson’s Disease, heart disease, PTSD, among others.

On February 10th, AG Kaul joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration along with the Department of Health and Human Services and NIH. The lawsuit challenges attempts to cut "indirect cost" reimbursements at all research institutions across the country. Following this legal action, a temporary restraining order was issued against NIH to prevent billions in funding cuts for biomedical and public health research.

AG Kaul was joined by attorneys general from Massachusetts, Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland Minnesota Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Oregon Rhode Island Vermont Washington in filing this lawsuit.