In May 2025, the White House proposed reducing the budget of the National Institutes of Health[1] by roughly 40% – from about US$48 billion to $27 billion[2]. Such a move would return NIH funding to levels last seen in 2007[3]. Since NIH budget records began in 1938, NIH has seen only one previous double-digit cut: a 12% reduction in 1952.
Congress is now tasked with finalizing the budget ahead of the new fiscal year,...