Judge slams 'misleading' Hegseth over slashes to defense research grants
Source: Courthouse News Service
October 13, 2025
(CN) — The Department of Defense breached federal procedure when it decided to cut research grant reimbursements without so much as “a nod” to Congress, according to a federal court. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy became the latest judge to denounce the Trump administration’s widespread attack on federal research funding when he granted summary judgment for universities and education groups that found the grant slashes arbitrary and capricious.
“Defendants call the academic community’s work with the Department of Defense ‘essential for the development of transformative research concepts that drive our future capabilities,’” Murphy, a Joe Biden appointee, wrote in his 58-page order. “Yet, with hardly any explanation at all, they have sought to upend nearly six decades of agency practice by announcing their refusal to reimburse wide swaths of research costs above a ‘de minimis’ amount.”
The ruling comes amid the Trump administration’s broad agenda to slash so-called “indirect costs” — which include infrastructure, equipment and custodial expenses — related to research funding throughout several of its top agencies. In this case, the schools and education groups claim that the Department of Defense suddenly and unlawfully announced it would be chopping the rates federal grants pay for those indirect research costs — which were often between 50% and 65%, the schools say — down to a hard 15% cap.
The effect would be top universities losing out on millions of dollars in previously allocated grant funding, which would slow scientific research surrounding national defense technology, the schools argue. Murphy ruled that the Department of Defense is relying on deception to justify the cuts.
Read more: https://courthousenews.com/judge-slams-misleading-hegseth-over-slashes-to-defense-research-grants/
Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/summary-judgment-defense-grant-cap-rate.pdf
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