Washington State Sues Trump Administration to Protect Scientific Research and Education Programs

SEATTLE — Attorney General Nick Brown today joined a coalition of 15 other attorneys general to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s illegal attempts to cut critical National Science Foundation (NSF) programs and funding that help maintain the United States’ position as a global leader in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

On April 18, NSF began terminating projects focused on increasing the participation of women, minorities, and people with disabilities in STEM fields. On May 2, NSF announced that it would also cap “indirect costs” of research projects like laboratory space, equipment, and facility services at 15 percent. This arbitrary limit on indirect costs would slash millions of dollars for groundbreaking scientific research across the country, jeopardizing national security, the economy, and public health.

With this lawsuit, Attorney General Brown and the coalition are seeking a court order blocking the implementation of NSF’s new directives to eliminate programs addressing diversity in STEM and cut vital funding for research across the country.

“Washington’s college and university system is at the forefront of critical research and emerging technologies, and relies heavily on support from the National Science Foundation,” said Brown. “Congress created the NSF to promote the progress of science and has recognized America’s need for a preeminent STEM workforce. The Trump administration does not have the authority to unilaterally cut NSF grants and their terminations threaten our national security and economic dominance.”

NSF also has a Congressionally mandated focus on improving diversity in STEM fields. Congress has instructed in law that a “core strategy” of NSF’s work must be to increase the participation of people who have historically been left out of STEM occupations. This policy has been a success. As the coalition of attorneys general notes, between 1995 and 2017, the number of women in science and engineering occupations, or with science or engineering degrees, has doubled. During that same time, people of color went from 15 percent to 35 percent of science and engineering job or degree holders. As a result of NSF’s April 18 directive to terminate programs seeking to increase diversity in STEM, dozens of projects have been canceled.

The coalition also asserts in the lawsuit that NSF’s directive to cap indirect costs at 15 percent would devastate scientific research at universities throughout the country. NSF’s new cap would mean essential research and infrastructure would be cut, leading to critical projects being abandoned, staff laid off, and research essential to national security, public health, and economic stability ending. The administration’s unlawful attempts to cap indirect costs at 15 percent for National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Energy (DOE) grants have already been stopped by courts, in part due to a lawsuit brought by Attorney General Brown and 21 other attorneys general.

Brown and the coalition argue that NSF’s directives violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution by unlawfully changing NSF policy and ignoring Congress’s intent for how NSF should function. The lawsuit seeks a court order ruling NSF’s new policies are illegal and blocking them from being implemented.

Joining the Washington state Attorney General’s Office in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

The lawsuit is available here.

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