Judge blocks NSF’s 15% cap on indirect costs, siding with universities
A federal judge has ruled in favor of a group of universities and higher education organizations that sued the National Science Foundation over its plan to limit reimbursement for indirect research costs.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani struck down the NSF’s policy capping indirect cost payments at 15%, calling it “invalid, arbitrary and capricious, and contrary to law,” according to her 52-page ruling issued Friday. She also ordered the agency to notify all affected grant recipients of the decision within 72 hours.
The ruling is the latest in a series of legal setbacks for the Trump administration, which has attempted to impose similar caps across multiple federal science agencies.
Courts have already blocked 15% caps proposed by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy. Last week, a lawsuit was filed against the Department of Defense over the same issue, and a judge issued a temporary restraining order just one day later.