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Research photo from the National Cancer Institute, shared via Unsplash. (NCI Photo)
When Luca Foschini, head of Seattle’s Sage Bionetworks, described the impact of the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze federal grants this week, it sounded like a run on the banks during America’s Great Depression.
“[W]e woke up to the news that federal disbursements supporting our ongoing research would be frozen by 5 PM ET. Attempts to log into the system resulted in error messages for hours,” Foschini said in an email to the company’s followers. “Imagine your bank announcing that ATM withdrawals would be frozen within 24 hours — only for the machines to stop working as panic lines form.”
President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget on Monday issued a memorandum putting a temporary halt on government payments on Tuesday, which was blocked by a federal judge before taking effect. The OMB on Wednesday rescinded the directive — but uncertainty remains.
“This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction. The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday on X.
The impact of these actions is being felt sharply in Washington state.
Institutions ranging from Sage to the Fred Hutch Cancer Center to the University of Washington as well as numerous biotech startups and life sciences companies are all conducting research and clinical trials that depend on federal grants and contracts.
The Arnold Building and the Vessel sculpture at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle. (Fred Hutch Photo)
The Fred Hutch receives approximately $400 million in total federal funding each year, which comes to about $1.1 million per day.
The UW School of Medicine landed $1.3 billion in federal grants in fiscal year 2022, placing it second in the nation among recipients of federal support, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
The lingering threat that the Trump administration could still freeze the funding continues to disrupt research.
“Uncertainty means that researchers have to guess whether to start an experiment or clinical trial with the potential risk of not being able to finish it, or the University of Washington School of Medicine risks not being reimbursed for the cost of doing the study,” said Susan Gregg, spokesperson for UW Medicine, by email. “This leads to delays in scientific breakthroughs and new treatments for patients.”
A freeze could disrupt experiments, potentially requiring them to be repeated or abandoned. Some universities are advising researchers to limit their studies and take cost control measures, Gregg added. Projects targeted by specific executive orders have been directed to stop their work while they wait for agency guidance.
Marc Cummings is president and CEO of Life Science Washington, a science and biotech trade association. The initial threat of a pause in funding had researchers scrambling for contingency plans, he said.
“Research is a long-term endeavor and funding is often tied to specific projects and individual researchers,” Cummings said by email. “You can’t pay them one day and not the next. Likewise, many companies and research institutes build research teams and staff project based on known funding cycles.”
Luca Foschini, president and CEO of Sage Bionetworks. (Sage Bionetworks Photo)
This week’s scare has Sage CEO Foschini eager to diversify the financial support for his nonprofit.
“While a last-minute court intervention may have temporarily suspended the order, today’s events have shaken my confidence in relying primarily on U.S. federal funding to drive biomedical breakthroughs. I am more determined than ever to expand Sage’s funding portfolio beyond federal sources to ensure that critical research continues,” the CEO wrote in the company’s monthly email update.
Foschini listed some of Sage’s federally supported initiatives, which have received dollars from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and others. The programs include:
A platform called Build Synapse that facilitates global collaboration among hundreds of thousands of researchers
Efforts to benchmark AI algorithms for FDA-related research
Creation of data portals that aid in bringing immunotherapy drugs to clinical trials
Monday’s two-page memorandum from the OMB that sought to halt funding was short on specifics. The directive “requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President’s policies and requirements.”
Democratic leaders blasted the move.
“Never in my time in the Senate have I seen a President cause as much chaos, and panic, and damage in such a short time as President Trump has caused with his brazen and illegal move to freeze federal grants, across the government, and across the country,” said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., at a media event Wednesday.
Administration officials and supporters said the order was misunderstood and the OMB yesterday issued a brief Q&A regarding the memo.
The OMB’s action does not create an “across-the-board” pause on funding, states the Q&A. It continues: “It is expressly limited to programs, projects, and activities implicated by the President’s Executive Orders, such as ending DEI, the green new deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations that undermine the national interest.”
But the follow up left many concerns unanswered. Diversity, equity and inclusion-related initiatives, for example, can be woven into grants and include provisions such as requirements for patient diversity in healthcare research in order to ensure more conclusive results. The memo doesn’t say if efforts like this would make a grant ineligible for funding.
While the funding freeze is on hold, others remain. That includes an order halting federal health agency communications and another that banning health agency travel.
Organizations in Washington are tracking the developments.
“As with any administration changes at the federal level, Fred Hutch closely monitors policy changes and plans for a range of scenarios so we can ensure the ongoing commitment to our mission, values and community,” said a statement issued by Fred Hutch.
“The uncertainty itself is distracting and disruptive to researchers at all career stages and in all scientific disciplines,” added Victor Balta, spokesperson for the UW, by email. “The potential impacts on the UW are not yet fully known and we will continue to closely monitor the situation.”
