The U.S. government enacted operational freezes across the NIH in 2025, halting grant reviews, external communications, travel, and hiring—moves that cost the research community more than $1.5 billion in canceled grants by mid‑May. Researchers reported stalled trials, paused recruitments, and disruption to graduate admissions and lab hiring. Medical leaders and former NIH directors publicly warned that the pauses threaten long-term biomedical progress and the talent pipeline. The freeze and subsequent indirect-cost cap proposal prompted universities and conferences to flag lost opportunities for clinical trials and early-career scientists, with leaders urging rapid policy resolution to avert broader scientific and patient-care consequences.