Senators, congressmen and NIH researchers come together to protest funding cuts
She was researching Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that can lead to fatal infections of the skin, lungs and blood, when she received an email about an emergency meeting scheduled the next day from her boss. On Jan. 28 she learned she had three months to find a new job.
“I was fired because he froze funding,” Katherine Le, 52, said following her release from the National Institute of Health after President Donald Trump, in a now-rescinded memo, froze grant and loan funding for all federal agencies. “They had to let me go.”
On Feb. 19, a few hundred scientists, researchers, students, and activists gathered outside of the Department of Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington, D.C. for the “Fund Don’t Freeze DC Rally” in protest of Trump’s staff and funding cuts to federal agencies.
The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention were among the several agencies.
Speakers included Senator Chris Van Hollen, Congressman Glenn Ivy of Maryland’s fourth congressional district, Congressman Jamie Raskin of the eighth congressional district and representatives from Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University.
Every speaker touched on the importance of graduate student research and its impact on American lives. Ivy described his experiences with diseases including his own cancer survival, losing his father to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and losing his mom to heart disease.
“The things that you all are doing, the research that you’re doing is making a difference. We’re all counting on you to continue to have a chance to work,” Ivy said. “That’s why we’re here to fight the administration to make sure we can continue allowing you all to do the basic research that we need to save lives.”
Three weeks into his presidency, Trump signed 70 executive orders targeting immigration, healthcare and eradicating federal DEI initiatives.
Hollen blames the change on Trump serving the wealthy people in power.
“These cuts will kill more Americans,” Hollen said. “Make no mistake…this has nothing to do with greater government efficiency. Nothing. This has everything to do with taking over the reigns of government to serve the already powerful and to slash public services that help every American.”
Le worked at the NIH part-time for six years. She took a gap year for training and returned a year and a half ago.
As a Vietnam War refugee who fled to the United States to escape “a situation like this where people who are in power do whatever they feel whenever they want,” Le is concerned about the “erosion” of checks and balances installed by the nation’s founders in the Constitution.
“It’s happening here and we need to fight for what we have,” she said.
Away from the crowd chanting “Hey, hey RFK, hands off the FDA,” with Congressman Raskin, scientists Shannon and Christina, who requested anonymity, said they’re concerned about what’s happening in the NIH and how its funding cuts will affect future scientists.
Over 1,000 workers have been terminated from the NIH under the Trump Administration’s orders, according to Reuters.
“I’m worried for my future as a scientist. All of the budget cuts have directly impacted PhD programs and just the future of science.” Shannon said. “It’s going to be very difficult for a new wave of scientists to become educated. It’s going to be really setting us back.”
A couple from New York traveled to Washington to protest staff and funding cuts under the direction of Trump and unelected co-chair of the newly developed Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk.
Mathematics teacher Ralph Rathbun, 64, and 70-year-old retired insurance company worker Deborah Convis remember how diseases like polio and chickenpox were mitigated by the invention of vaccines. They’re both registered Republicans, but did not vote for Trump in 2016 or in the 2024 presidential election because of his policies.
“We’re pretty unhappy with everything that’s happened since Trump has become president,” Rathbun said about Trump’s campaign promise to decrease the price of eggs while firing scientists amid the bird flu outbreak. “It’s as bad as we feared it was going to be.”
They worry for their grandchildren and the long-term consequences of Trump’s broad sweeps against DEI and overhauling federal science agencies. Convis, however, is optimistic about elected officials working to reverse Trump’s actions come midterm elections.
“I have lots of hope in the fact that in two years, some of the people who voted for Trump and his cronies will see the light in the House of Representatives and hopefully the Senate will turn,” Convis said.
In the meantime, she and Rathbun will continue protesting.
“We need to protest, we need to call our congressmen, we need to call our representatives, we need to use our voice as much as we can,” Rathbun said.