WA congresswoman pushes back against National Institutes of Health cuts
Jul 30, 2025, 4:03 PM | Updated: 4:05 pm
Congresswoman Kim Schrier (D-08) addresses the NIH cuts while meeting with researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center on Wednesday. (Photo: Gwen Baumgardner, KIRO Newsradio)
(Photo: Gwen Baumgardner, KIRO Newsradio)
A Washington congresswoman is the latest lawmaker to push back on Trump administration plans to dramatically slash federal research funding.
The administration is working to reduce discretionary funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by 40%. This comes in addition to federal cuts within the “big, beautiful bill.”
Congresswoman Kim Schrier (D-08) addressed the cuts while meeting with researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center on Wednesday.
“I have been deeply concerned about this administration’s reckless cuts to medical research and science in general, and what they have done with chopping off the head of NIH funding,” Schrier said. “They’ve done this to NIH. They’ve done this to FDA, to CDC, and it is threatening not just our current research, but the entire pipeline of research and students and U.S. leadership for at least a generation.”
Trump positions NIH cuts to reduce national deficit
The Trump administration has positioned the cuts as a way to reduce the national deficit and has also pushed to cancel NIH grants related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and gender identity research.
Schrier said that while she agrees there is a need to reduce the national debt, she does not agree with the President’s approach.
“The way to make those cuts is to do it with a scalpel and not with a chainsaw,” Schrier said. “Medical research and NIH are one of the best investments our country makes. Those dollars are spent efficiently.”
