A Senate report, commissioned by Senator Bernie Sanders, has revealed that the Trump administration drastically cut cancer research funding by 31 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in the previous year.
The report, released Tuesday, accuses the White House of an “unprecedented, illegal, and outrageous attack on science and scientists.”
The analysis found that as of April, health funding had been slashed by at least $13.5 billion, resulting in the termination of 1,660 grants and the dismissal of thousands of scientific personnel.
The National Cancer Institute was particularly affected, losing $2.7 billion between January and March, which drove inflation-adjusted grant funding to a decade low.
Senator Sanders, a ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labour, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, condemned the administration’s actions, stating that they were “not only denying scientific truth but actively seeking to undermine it.”
The report, based on interviews with numerous federal scientists and healthcare workers, depicts a chaotic environment within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under the leadership of vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
At the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 175 public health datasets were reportedly deleted, leaving doctors without essential treatment guidance.
A colorectal cancer patient, whose T-cell therapy trial at the NIH was delayed due to staff shortages, expressed concern that the funding cuts could jeopardise her treatment and her life.
Researchers at the NIH Clinical Centre described “complete chaos” following mass lab dismissals, with one stating, “This administration has a lot of blood on their hands.”
The report also highlighted the dangers of misinformation during a measles outbreak, noting that over 40 grants related to vaccine hesitancy had been cancelled.
Kennedy’s appointment of vaccine conspiracy theorist David Geier, who has a history of disciplinary action and unproven drug testing on autistic children, to investigate a debunked link between vaccines and autism was also criticised.
Despite proposing a 26 per cent cut to the HHS budget for the following year, Trump has allocated $500 million to Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, which focuses on nutrition, physical activity, and reducing reliance on medication.
The administration has not yet responded to the report’s findings.
