Senator Murray Condemns Trump Administration's NIH-DOD Research Agreement
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has strongly condemned an agreement between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DOD) that could allow the DOD to access up to $2 billion in federal research dollars originally designated for biomedical research. Senator Murray stated that the Trump administration is attempting to 'rob NIH of billions of dollars' to 'pad the Pentagon’s budget,' characterizing the move as detrimental to lifesaving medical research and clinical trials. While an NIH spokesperson clarified that transfers would occur on a project-by-project basis and remain within NIH's mission, with no blanket transfer of funds, the agreement aims to shift biodefense research projects from the infectious diseases institute to the DOD. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya stated on social media that no funds would be transferred to the DOD in the current fiscal year, ending September 30, and that the partnership focuses on discoveries to i... 
