Attorney General Kathy Jennings, joining with 15 other attorneys general, sued the Trump administration to stop its illegal attempts to cut critical National Science Foundation (NSF) programs and funding that maintain the United States’ position as a global leader in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). On April 18, NSF began unlawfully terminating projects focused on increasing the participation of women, minorities, and people with disabilities in STEM fields. On May 2, NSF announced that it would also cap “indirect costs” of research projects like laboratory space, equipment, and facility services at 15 percent. This arbitrary limit on indirect costs would slash millions of dollars for groundbreaking scientific research across the country, jeopardizing national security, the economy, and public health. With this lawsuit, Attorney General Jennings is seeking a court order blocking the implementation of the administration’s new directives.

Since its creation in 1950, NSF has been an independent federal agency crucial to maintaining the United States’ dominance in science. From developing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to creating innovative solutions to environmental and energy challenges, NSF-funded research at American universities is vital to addressing the nation’s biggest challenges and maintaining the country’s competitive edge.

Several Delaware institutions have long been supported by NSF funding, including the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, and several other private entities. The University of Delaware alone – which has used its NSF funding to support major breakthroughs it has achieved in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biology, and agriculture, among others – would lose close to $10 million in grants and funding should the illegal attempts to cut NSF funding be allowed to proceed.

NSF also has a congressionally mandated focus on improving diversity in STEM fields. Congress has mandated in law that a “core strategy” of NSF’s work must be to increase the participation of people who have historically been left out of STEM occupations. This policy has been a success. As the lawsuit notes, between 1995 and 2017, the number of women in science and engineering occupations, or with science or engineering degrees, has doubled. During that same time, people of color went from 15 percent to 35 percent of science and engineering job or degree holders. As a result of NSF’s new directive to terminate programs seeking to increase diversity in STEM, dozens of projects have been canceled.

Attorney General Jennings and the coalition also assert that NSF’s directive to cap indirect costs at 15 percent would devastate scientific research. NSF’s new cap would mean essential research and infrastructure would be cut, leading to critical projects being abandoned, staff laid off, and research essential to national security, public health, and economic stability ending. Similar efforts to cap indirect costs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Energy (DOE) have already been stopped by courts, in part due to a lawsuit brought by Attorney General Jennings and other attorneys general.

The lawsuit asserts that NSF’s new directives violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution by unlawfully changing NSF policy and ignoring the law regarding how NSF should function. AG Jennings seeks a court order blocking NSF’s illegal new policies from being implemented.

Joining Attorney General Jennings in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.