AG Kaul Issues Statement After Federal Judge Extends TRO Preserving Funding for Medical and Public Health Innovation Research

MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul today issued the following statement after Judge Angel Kelley of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts extended a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the Trump Administration’s unlawful cuts to funds that support groundbreaking medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country.

“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.”

Cuts to this funding would put lifesaving research, including clinical trials, in jeopardy, and would have a destructive impact on universities around Wisconsin and the nation. Many of these institutions are at the forefront of cutting-edge research efforts and are training future generations of researchers and innovators. Without this funding, universities would be forced to redirect funds and ultimately reduce research activities. Research funded by the National Institutes of Health has found new treatments for adult and childhood cancer, ALS, Parkinson’s Disease, heart disease, PTSD and more.

On February 10, AG Kaul joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the NIH in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts challenging the Trump Administration’s attempt to unilaterally cut “indirect cost” reimbursements at every research institution throughout the country. Hours later, the Court issued a temporary restraining order against the NIH, barring it from cutting billions in funding for biomedical and public health research.

Joining AG Kaul in filing the lawsuit, which was co-led by the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Illinois and Michigan, were 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, and Washington.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.