Former NIH scientist sues Trump administration, claims illegal firing
over research cuts
[December 17, 2025]
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former leading scientist at the National Institutes
of Health sued the Trump administration Tuesday, saying she was
illegally fired for warning that abrupt research cuts were endangering
patients and public health.
The NIH has cut billions of dollars in research projects since President
Donald Trump took office in January, bypassing the usual scientific
funding process. The cuts included clinical trials testing treatments
for cancer, brain diseases and other health problems that a recent
report said impacted over 74,000 people enrolled in the experiments.
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo is a well-known HIV expert who led NIH’s National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Last spring, Marrazzo was
put on administrative leave after she challenged NIH officials about the
cuts. Among her objections were that some cuts would endanger clinical
trial participants while others curtailing infectious disease and
vaccine research would harm public health, according to Tuesday’s
lawsuit.
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 In September, Marrazzo filed a
complaint alleging whistleblower retaliation with the U.S. Office of
Special Counsel, and publicly shared her concerns. Weeks later she
was fired by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to
the lawsuit filed in federal court in Maryland that claims
violations of whistleblower protections.
In a statement issued by her lawyers, Marrazzo said the lawsuit "is
about protecting not just my right to expose abuse and fraud by our
government but those rights for all federal employees, so we can
safeguard essential public health priorities and the integrity of
scientific research.”
A spokesman for Kennedy's Department of Health and Human Services
declined to comment.
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