The Biden administration did not cut funds to cancer research in 2025 just days before Trump was inaugurated; rather, significant cuts to NIH and cancer research funding occurred under the Trump administration after January 2025.
False
The Biden administration cut funds to cancer research in 2025 just days before Trump became inaugurated
Cancer experts alarmed over ‘gut-wrenching’ Trump plan to cut research spending by billions - Trump administration | The Guardian
Source: theguardian.com
At a glance
Verified August 13, 2025Key Evidence
The Guardian reports over $180 million in NCI grants canceled by Trump administration between February and April 2025.
theguardian.comtheguardian.comCancer experts alarmed over ‘gut-wrenching’ Trump plan to cut research spending...
PBS News notes more than $1 billion in NIH grants cut by Trump administration in 2025.
pbs.orgpbs.orgTrump administration’s NIH funding cuts threaten research on sickle cell disease
Senator Sanders' report confirms $2.7 billion NIH funding cuts through March 2025 under Trump.
sanders.senate.govsanders.senate.govTrump administration cut $2.7 billion in NIH research funding through March,...
The reporting
What the Evidence Shows
The claim states that the Biden administration cut cancer research funding in 2025 shortly before Trump's inauguration. However, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States in January 2025, marking the end of Joe Biden's presidency. There is no evidence from the sources that Biden's administration made such cuts in early 2025.
Multiple credible sources document that the Trump administration implemented substantial cuts to NIH funding, including cancer research, during 2025 after taking office. For example:
- The Guardian reports that between February and April 2025, over $180 million in National Cancer Institute grants were canceled by the Trump administration.
- PBS News highlights that more than $1 billion in NIH grants were cut by the Trump administration in 2025, affecting diseases including cancer.pbs.orgpbs.orgTrump administration’s NIH funding cuts threaten research on sickle cell disease
- Senator Bernie Sanders' report states that $2.7 billion in NIH research funding was cut through March 2025 under Trump's administration.sanders.senate.govsanders.senate.govTrump administration cut $2.7 billion in NIH research funding through March,...
Biden did sign a bipartisan bill related to pediatric cancer programs in early 2025, but this involved capping indirect cost reimbursements for NIH grants rather than outright cutting cancer research funding.uptownstandard.comuptownstandard.comBiden Signed the Bipartisan Bill Cutting Pediatric Cancer Programs; Trump... This policy was introduced during the transition period but does not equate to broad funding cuts just before Trump's inauguration.
The timeline and evidence clearly show that major funding reductions to cancer and other medical research occurred under President Trump's administration after his inauguration, not under Biden's just before it.
Therefore, the statement is factually incorrect regarding who made the cuts and when they occurred.
Primary trail
Verified Sources7
Open source