Democratic senators on Wednesday grilled President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health over agency firings and delayed research due to frozen funding.
Stanford University health researcher Jay Bhattacharya repeatedly said he was not aware of the decisions stemming from Trump’s cost-cutting initiatives but vowed to ensure that scientists have the resources they need if he’s confirmed to lead the agency.
“I’m going to assess it Day One,” he said at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “I’m going to understand what resources the whole NIH needs and make sure that the scientists working at NIH have the resources they need and the scientists supported by the NIH are supported by that.”
The Trump administration has fired more than 1,000 people from NIH over the last month, while also halting new applications for $1 billion in NIH funding and restricting agency communications. Days ago, NIH announced it would lower the amount it provides to universities and medical schools for indirect costs of research, from 55 percent to 15 percent. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the decision.
