National Institutes of Health (NIH) Acting Director Matthew Memoli has issued a memo to clarify the scope of the Trump administration’s freeze on communications and functions within the Health and Human Services Department, which has raised concern among agency officials and lawmakers.
The memo states that the freeze was issued to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization, but notes that due to “confusion on the scope of the pause” Memoli wanted to provide additional guidance. The memo clarifies that the freeze will not halt external communications, new guidance, or new regulations, but only pause announcements and press releases on the website.
Additionally, the memo allows research and clinical trials initiated before January 20 to continue, while new research projects are still prohibited. However, officials working on these studies can continue to purchase necessary supplies and attend meetings related to the work.
The freeze on purchases has also been clarified, with Memoli stating that only purchases “directly related to human safety, human or animal healthcare, security, biosafety, biosecurity, or IT security” may continue.
The move has raised concerns about the impact on research and has been criticized by Democratic lawmakers, who have expressed their “grave concerns about actions that have taken place in recent days that potentially disrupt lifesaving research being conducted and supported by the National Institutes of Health.”
A former scientist has also weighed in, stating that pauses like this are not unusual, but noted that the intention behind this freeze may be to “scare, demoralize, and set science back a bit to make us look bad.”