Attorney General Kwame Raoul co-led a coalition of 22 attorneys general to stop the Trump administration from unlawfully cutting Department of Health and Human Services and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding that supports cutting-edge medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country.  The coalition filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to unilaterally cut “indirect cost” reimbursements at every research institution throughout the country. These reimbursements cover necessary expenses to facilitate biomedical research, including lab, faculty, safety protocol, data processing and utility costs. The NIH announced it would abruptly slash indirect cost rates to an across-the-board 15 percent rate, which is significantly less than the cost required to perform cutting edge medical research. Indirect cost reimbursements are based on each institution’s unique needs, negotiated with the federal government through a carefully regulated process, and then memorialized in an executed agreement. Raoul and the attorneys general argue that the Trump administration’s attempt to toss those agreements aside put public health and medical advancements at risk. The coalition is seeking a court order barring NIH from implementing the new policy.