Trump Administration Slashes Health Disparities Research, Halting Decades of Progress
The Trump administration has sharply curtailed federal funding for research on health disparities, halting hundreds of projects that for decades sought to narrow gaps in life expectancy and disease rates between racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. The move follows a series of executive orders banning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies across federal agencies. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has since canceled initiatives it said were ideologically driven or offered limited returns, pledging instead to fund projects serving “all vulnerable populations” based on clinical need rather than identity.
A New York Times analysis found that, as of mid-June, NIH had terminated at least 616 health disparities grants worth $407 million nearly half of all awards cut by the administration before court rulings ordered some reinstated. Many canceled programs focused on training or supporting researchers from underrepresented backgrounds, a long-standing conservative target. By mid-August, 267 grants had been restored, but the administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow more cancellations to proceed.
Researchers say projects were often flagged simply for including words like “race” or “equity” in their titles, regardless of scientific value. Terminated studies included postpartum doula support for low-income mothers, interventions for pregnant women facing partner violence, and research into biological aging among Black women.
Public health experts warn that such targeted research benefits all Americans—like doula programs reducing C-sections for all mothers—and that eliminating these efforts threatens decades of progress in addressing the structural causes of poor health in marginalized communities.
