WASHINGTON – Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, a former senior scientist at the National Institutes of Health, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration, claiming she was unlawfully terminated after raising concerns that sudden cuts to research funding were putting patients and public health at risk.
Since President Trump took office, the NIH has reduced billions of dollars in research spending, bypassing standard scientific review procedures. The cuts affected clinical trials for cancer, neurological disorders, and other conditions, impacting more than 74,000 participants. Marrazzo, an HIV specialist who previously led the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was placed on administrative leave last spring after challenging agency officials over the reductions. According to the lawsuit, she argued that the cuts endangered participants in ongoing clinical trials and undermined critical research into infectious diseases and vaccines.
In September, Marrazzo filed a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and publicly voiced her concerns. Shortly afterward, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. terminated her employment, prompting her to take legal action in federal court in Maryland. The lawsuit asserts that her firing violated federal whistleblower protections. Marrazzo’s attorneys said the case seeks not only to defend her rights but also to protect all federal employees who expose government mismanagement, ensuring the integrity of public health research. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment.