Trump Budget Plan Targets Deep Cuts to NIH

WASHINGTON (NEXTERM) — This week, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee emphasized the adverse effects of possible budget reductions proposed by the Trump administration for the National Institutes of Health with the aim of preventing these cuts from happening.

U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) supported the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s initiative to achieve designation as a National Cancer Institute center. At present, such centers do not exist in her state or nearby states like Louisiana and Arkansas.

“This scenario necessitates that residents of Mississippi journey long distances to receive specialized cancer treatment,” stated Hyde-Smith.

“As your neighbor, I completely grasp the heavy burden of cancer that your state faces,” stated Dr. Barry Paul Sleckman, who directs the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, an institution recognized by the NCI.

Sleckman informed the committee that possible reductions in funding could hinder these prospects for emerging research and therapies.

“He mentioned that those will need to be held for an extended duration,” he stated.

The Trump administration presented its 2026 budget proposal on Friday, urging Congress to cut the total NIH funding substantially by almost fifty percent, reducing it from approximately $48 billion down to $30 billion.

“There haven’t been any real cuts,” stated NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya.

Rather, Bhattacharya stated that the organization is undergoing “a reshuffling of priorities.”

To concentrate on the illnesses genuinely affecting Americans,” he stated. “It’s not about taking away funds; rather, it’s exactly the contrary.

The budget proposal keeps $27 billion allocated for NIH research but does not provide specifics about the funding.

The U.S. Senate Health Committee will hold a hearing on the president’s budget on Wednesday, with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who supervises the NIH, scheduled to speak.

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