A federal judge on Wednesday issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from slashing National Institutes of Health payments for research overhead, a decision that suggests plaintiffs seeking to overturn the sweeping policy change are likely to eventually succeed.

The NIH, the main funder of biomedical research, awarded about $35 billion in grants to research groups last year. The total is divided into “direct” costs – covering researchers’ salaries and laboratory supplies – and “indirect” costs, the administrative and facility costs needed to support that work.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s plan to cut funding for medical research grants, a move that could have cost North Carolina researchers up to $44 million. The federal government is expected to appeal.

Columbia University has become the first target in President Donald Trump’s campaign to cut federal money to colleges accused of tolerating antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war.

The Trump administration announced Monday it is reviewing contracts and grants associated with Columbia University over antisemitism allegations against the Ivy League school. The Department of Health and Human Services,

President Trump is threatening to pull Columbia University's federal funding over antisemitism concerns. "All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,