A new Senate report revealed that the Trump administration slashed cancer research funding by 31% during the first quarter of 2025, prompting accusations of a “war on science.”
Commissioned by Senator Bernie Sanders, the report alleges that over $13.5 billion in health funding was cut by April, impacting 1,660 grants and leading to thousands of job losses among federal scientific staff.
The National Cancer Institute reportedly lost over $300 million in just three months, pushing its grant support to the lowest inflation-adjusted level in over a decade. The broader National Institutes of Health (NIH) saw a $2.7 billion budget cut.
“Trump is not only denying science—he’s actively dismantling it,” said Sanders, who serves as ranking member of the Senate Health Committee.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), now led by vaccine-skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., denied the accusations, calling Sanders’ claims politically charged and defending their restructuring as necessary to eliminate redundancy and prioritize “gold standard science.”
The report paints a picture of turmoil, citing deleted CDC datasets, clinical trials delayed by staff shortages, and widespread disorganization at the NIH Clinical Center.
It also notes a growing measles outbreak, the cancellation of 40 vaccine hesitancy studies, and the controversial hiring of vaccine conspiracy theorist David Geier by Kennedy to investigate debunked links between vaccines and autism.
Despite cutting overall HHS funding, Trump proposed a $500 million budget for Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, focusing on wellness and reduced reliance on medication.