Senate report reveals Trump slashed cancer research by 31%
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The report, based on interviews with dozens of federal scientists and public health workers, describes institutional breakdown within the HHS, now led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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A radiologist uses a magnifying glass to check mammograms for breast cancer in Los Angeles, on May 6, 2010 (AP)
The Trump administration has slashed US cancer research funding by 31% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to a new Senate report released Tuesday. The report, commissioned by Senator Bernie Sanders, accuses the White House of waging a “war on science” through sweeping cuts and mass layoffs across federal health agencies.
At the center of the cuts is the National Cancer Institute, which lost over $300 million in funding between January and March. Its parent agency, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), saw its budget slashed by $2.7 billion. In total, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has eliminated at least $13.5 billion in health funding this year, including 1,660 research grants and thousands of federal scientific staff.
"Since January, Trump has launched an unprecedented, illegal and outrageous attack on science and scientists," expressed Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. “Trump is not only denying scientific truth but actively seeking to undermine it.”
Fallout across health agencies, lives at risk
The report, based on interviews with dozens of federal scientists and public health workers, describes institutional breakdown within the HHS, now led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 175 public health datasets were reportedly deleted, leaving frontline physicians without reliable treatment guidance.
The cuts have had life-altering consequences for patients. A 43-year-old colorectal cancer patient enrolled in a promising T-cell therapy trial at the NIH reported delays in treatment due to staffing shortages.
"The reality is that by reducing money and staff, the NIH will not be able to produce my treatment -- and it might cost me my life," she told Senate staff.
Inside the NIH Clinical Center, researchers described the situation as “complete chaos” following mass layoffs. “This administration has a lot of blood on their hands,” said one researcher. “We just want to take care of people.”
The report also warned of rising health misinformation, particularly amid a measles outbreak that has infected over 1,000 people and killed three. More than 40 federally funded studies on vaccine hesitancy have been canceled.
At the same time, Kennedy has controversially appointed David Geier, a discredited figure previously sanctioned for unauthorized medical practice and unethical research on autistic children, to investigate vaccine safety, despite overwhelming scientific consensus debunking links between vaccines and autism.
Despite the mounting criticism, Trump has proposed a further 26% cut to the HHS budget for 2026, while allocating $500 million to Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, which focuses on nutrition, exercise, and reducing medication use.
