Hartford, Connecticut — Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced on Wednesday that he has joined a coalition of 21 other attorneys general in an effort to prevent the President Donald Trump administration from defunding medical and public health innovation research.
The coalition has obtained a nationwide preliminary injunction in Massachusetts v. National Institutes of Health.
The order prevents the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health from removing billions of dollars in funding for medical and public health research at universities and other institutions across the country.
The coalition of attorneys general seeks to protect these institutions in every state and territory, even if they have not joined the lawsuit.
According to Tong, the preliminary injunction protects critical funds that support biomedical research, as well as lab, faculty, infrastructure, and utility costs. He adds that without the funds, the United States’ ability to conduct lifesaving and life-changing medical research may be jeopardized.
“We just secured a nationwide block on Donald Trump’s illegal attack on science and public health,” Tong told reporters.
According to Tong, Trump’s executive order aimed to defund critical cancer research while also slowing progress in treatments for heart disease, autism, Alzheimer’s, and preventable newborn deaths.
“[Trump’s] needless order would have put thousands and thousands of people out of work and made us all sicker in the meantime,” Tong told reporters. “This is a major early victory, and I’m going to keep fighting this case for as long as it takes to protect Connecticut families.”
Less than six hours after the coalition filed its lawsuit against the Trump administration on February 10, a judge in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order against the National Institutes of Health, preventing it from cutting research funding.
The order issued on March 5 replaces the temporary restraining order and prevents the Trump administration from cutting funding as the case progresses, according to Tong. He added that it will remain in effect until a final decision is reached.
The National Institutes of Health is the main source of federal funding for medical research in the United States. The funding it provides has resulted in scientific advances such as the discovery of treatments for all types of cancer and the first sequencing of DNA.
The Massachusetts, Illinois, and Michigan attorneys general are co-leading the lawsuit. The attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin have joined the coalition with Connecticut.
