Markey, Massachusetts Delegation Raise Alarm over NIH Director’s Congressional Testimony, Dispute Scale of NIH Clinical Trial Disruptions Under Trump

Letter Text (PDF)

Washington (March 17, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, today led members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation-Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Representatives Richard Neal (MA-01), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), and Bill Keating (MA-09)-in writing to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya in response to his February 3, 2026, testimony before the HELP Committee.

During the hearing, Senator Markey asked Director Bhattacharya whether any clinical trials had been disrupted or stopped because of NIH grant terminations since he was confirmed. The Director acknowledged that there were disruptions to "some clinical trials," but claimed that only "roughly about a dozen" trials were impacted.

In response, Senator Markey referenced a peer-reviewed research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine that found that NIH's grant terminations disrupted 383 clinical trials, affecting more than 74,000 trial enrollees across the country. When questioned about the letter, Director Bhattacharya refuted the findings of the peer-reviewed study, claiming that the findings were "inaccurate" and "not reality," without providing evidence to support his claim.

The lawmakers wrote, "When NIH unilaterally terminates an active, competitively awarded grant before its period of performance is complete, the agency is leaving trial participants without continuity of care and researchers without the resources to conclude their work. Terminating grants mid-trial also wastes a significant amount of the public dollars already committed to that research-in this case, likely hundreds of millions in unexpended award funds that will never produce the results they were intended to generate. ... The integrity of NIH's testimony before Congress and the safety of tens of thousands of patients who trusted the federal government when they volunteered for clinical research demand complete and accurate answers. This administration has claimed to be eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse-yet terminating grants mid-trial wastes funding already invested, abandons patients exposed to experimental treatments without a clear resolution, and leaves dedicated researchers in the lurch. NIH-funded clinical trials are how our country has reduced suffering, discovered cures, and maintained its position as the world leader in medical research. Your actions have put all of that at risk."

The lawmakers requested answers by March 31, 2026, to questions that include:

• The complete list of NIH grants terminated since January 20, 2025, including the grant number, principal investigator, institution, associated clinical trial identifier, and the reason for termination provided to the grantee.
• The number of clinical trials that were disrupted or terminated as a direct or indirect consequence of NIH grant terminations since January 20, 2025, along with the total number of patients enrolled in those trials at the time of termination.
• A detailed explanation of the methodology and data underlying the Director's testimony that only "a dozen" clinical trials were disrupted, including a specific, evidence-based response to the methodology and findings of the JAMA Internal Medicine report.
• A description of what steps NIH has taken, or plans to take, to protect the safety and continuity of care for patients who were enrolled in clinical trials at the time their funding was terminated.

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