Sun Aug 03 14:40:00 UTC 2025: **Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s LGBTQ+ Research Grant Cancellations**
**Washington D.C. -** A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to cancel National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants dedicated to LGBTQ+ health research. US District Judge Lydia Griggsby, a Biden appointee, issued a preliminary injunction on Friday, stating that the directives to terminate the grants appeared to be designed to “focus and target LGBTQ+ members.”
The lawsuit, filed by the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights, alleges that the NIH engaged in unlawful discrimination by specifically targeting research projects related to LGBTQ+ issues for funding cuts. According to the organization’s attorney, Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, NIH employees were using search terms associated with LGBTQ+ topics, such as “transgender,” “nonbinary,” and “sexuality,” to identify grants for termination. Gonzalez-Pagan argued that the administration’s actions stem from a disbelief in the existence of transgender individuals.
Assistant US Attorney Michael Wilson argued that the court lacked jurisdiction and that the matter should be considered a political process.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has faced legal challenges over its attempts to cancel grants related to identity-related research. In June, a Massachusetts district court ruled against the NIH’s gutting of diversity-related grants, stating that “racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community” was behind the termination plans.
Judge Griggsby plans to issue a written ruling on the matter in the coming weeks.
First Piper 