The U.S. administration imposed restrictions across NIH operations in early 2025 that halted grant reviews, external communications, travel and hiring, and proposed a 15% cap on indirect costs on NIH grants. Research organizations reported confusion, canceled grant reviews and paused hiring and graduate admissions in response; by mid‑May, NIH and NSF had canceled more than $1.5 billion in grants. Scientists and patient advocates described immediate disruptions to clinical trials, early‑career researchers and translational pipelines. Prominent voices in the research community, including former NIH leadership and university investigators, warned of downstream effects on patient access to experimental therapies and the biomedical workforce pipeline. The episode highlighted how federal policy and administrative actions can rapidly reshape research funding flows and operational continuity at academic and industry research centers.