Other universities are cutting spending, freezing hiring and rescinding admissions acceptances
Protesters against planned National Institutes of Health funding cuts
The Trump administration’s push to slash funding at the National Institutes of Health has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore said Thursday that it is laying off more than 2,200 people as a result of President Donald Trump’s deep budget cuts, with another 100 furloughed on reduced schedules. It’s the largest layoff in the university’s history. Johns Hopkins was the largest university recipient of federal research funding, and is the largest employer in the state of Maryland.“This is a difficult day for our entire community,” a university spokesperson told USA TODAY. Affected workers will receive at least 60 days notice before the cuts take effect, the spokesperson said. Many of the jobs are in other countries, since the university specializes in USAID-funded research projects, which Trump has slashed.
The historic layoffs come as other universities are cutting spending, freezing hiring and in some cases rescinding admissions acceptance for graduate students as they face budget cuts from Trump and Congress.
From Baltimore to New York City, California to Colorado, administrators say Trump has injected uncertainty into their finances, prompting them to move with caution. That uncertainty extends beyond cuts to research grants, and includes the knock-on effect of possible federal cuts to Medicaid expansions, which states might have to backfill with local tax dollars that would otherwise go to universities.
Researchers say the cuts imperil critical work investigating childhood diseases, chronic illness and other long-running investigations into keeping Americans healthy and safe. Trump has halted some existing funding for universities, while Congress is considering long-term cuts to National Institutes of Health grants, which typically fund about $48 billion worth of research annually at 2,500 universities, medical schools and other research institutions.
Overall, U.S. taxpayers fund an estimated $81 billion in academic scientific research and development annually, more than twice the next-highest country, according to the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
“This is literally throwing molasses into every aspect of our scientific institutions. And it’s totally unnecessary,” said University of California San Diego Prof. Jonathan Sebat, an international leader in studying how genetics affects mental health, including conditions like autism and schizophrenia.
As an example, Sebat cited the development of the diabetes and weight-loss drug Ozempic, which took more than 30 years of basic research to develop via NIH-funded university labs.
One bright spot for universities: A judge has temporarily halted Trump’s efforts to limit the amount of federal research grant money that can be spent on overhead such as administrative and support salaries.
Among the universities that have announced cuts and how they would be affected:
- Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels had warned administrators had “little choice” but to make the layoffs and halt federally funded international research. The university said it is “immensely proud of the work done … to care for mothers and infants, fight disease, provide clean drinking water, and advance countless other critical, life-saving efforts around the world.”
- Columbia University in New York City, facing a $400 million budget cut, announced unspecified changes to “research and other critical functions,” interim President Katrina Armstrong told the campus last week. Trump targeted Columbia specifically over his accusations that it hasn’t done enough to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests last year. The $400 million in funding represents about 30% of Columbia’s annual government contracts, according to the university’s 2024 public financial statement. Fifty-nine other universities have been notified they face federal investigations over similar accusations.
- The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester rescinded “several dozen” acceptances for PhD students at its Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences program. “With uncertainties related to the funding of biomedical research in this country, this difficult decision was made to ensure that our current students’ progress is not disrupted by the funding cuts and that we avoid matriculating students who may not have robust opportunities for dissertation research,” the school said in a statement.
- Colorado State University in Fort Collins announced limits on travel, raises, overtime and non-essential spending, and encouraged faculty and staff to host virtual meetings because catering and other hospitality spending “will be significantly reduced,” CFO Brendan Hanlon said in a statement.
Trump administration officials have criticized the “hysteria” around cuts to federal research funding, and say changes are necessary to reduce federal spending.
“The Trump administration is committed to slashing the cottage industry built off of the waste, fraud, and abuse within our mammoth government while prioritizing the needs of everyday Americans,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to media outlets.