AURORA, Colo. — A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration's move to cut National Institutes of Health funding, impacting universities that conduct medical and scientific research.
On Monday, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced his office joined a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's funding cuts.
University of Colorado Regent Wanda James said the cuts impact hundreds of research employees at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
“We have hundreds of PhD researchers and doctors right now whose funding was literally cut off last week, which means they can't continue doing the research that they were doing that will save lives, that will change the way that we live, and we're concerned,” James said. “We've heard our chancellor over at Anschutz say that this could cost lives. It's dangerous.”
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus relies on $360 million in National Institutes of Health funding.
James said that when you add in the diversity, equity, and inclusion rollbacks, thousands of jobs are on the line.
“I think that this is what people really need to understand … when you cut entire departments and entire parts of government, the trickle-down effect is just enormous. And we don't even know what that means as of yet, but we're keeping our eye on it,” James said. “Quite frankly, as an elected official, I'm calling on our federally elected officials to stand up and lead and to give us a plan.”
James said she will continue to work to gather information on funding cuts and freezes and urge lawmakers to take immediate action.
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