DOGE Terminates 694 NIH Research Grants Worth $1.81 Billion -- HIV Prevention, Cancer Research, and Vaccine Studies Cut

DOGE representative Rachel Riley gave NIH officials lists of grants to terminate, ordering hundreds canceled in a single day. A JAMA-published study documented 694 NIH grants terminated totaling $1.81B -- 30% of which had not yet been spent at termination time. Grants targeted included HIV prevention and treatment programs, vaccine hesitancy research, gender studies, and DEI-related medical research. Senate Democrats reported NIH cut $2.7B in grant funding in Q1 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. By May, DOGE had taken over screening of all NIH grants through Grants.gov, reducing award rates to ~20% of normal pace. HHS announced "the era of rubber stamping is over."