Since the beginning of the year, the Universities of Wisconsin has been reviewing federal legislative actions, regulatory changes, and Presidential executive orders. Some of our work has been to coordinate outreach and action on those issues affecting our UW universities. Here’s an update to the work the Universities of Wisconsin has been doing specifically on federally funded projects and litigation. Go to our Federal Updates website for additional information.
Litigation Action on Federal Directives
To date, Wisconsin has joined the following multi-state lawsuits to fight unlawful impacts to the Universities of Wisconsin, and in some cases, submitted declarations in suits brought by partners in higher education. Some lawsuits have resulted in court orders that block the federal government from executing these directives until further legal judgement can be reached:
- New York v. Trump (District of Rhode Island Case No. 25-cv-00039) – filed 1/28/25
- Multi-state case challenging the OMB “funding freeze”
- Mass. v. NIH (District of Massachusetts Case No. 25-cv-10338) – filed 2/10/25
- Multi-state case challenging NIH’s proposal to reduce indirect cost rate to 15%
- AAU v. NIH (District of Massachusetts Case No. 25-cv-10346) – filed 2/10/25
- AAU case challenging NIH’s proposal to reduce indirect cost rate to 15%
- California v. Dept. of Education (District of Massachusetts Case No. 25-cv-10548) – filed 3/6/25
- Multi-state case challenging U.S. Dept. of Education termination of TQP and SEED grants
- New York v. McMahon (District of Massachusetts Case No. 1:25-cv-10601) – filed 3/13/25
- Multi-state case challenging the dismantling of the Department of Education
- Colorado v. HHS (District of Rhode Island Case No. 25-cv-00121) – filed 4/1/25
- Multi-state case challenging HHS terminations of COVID-19 related grants
- Rhode Island v. Trump (District of Rhode Island Case No. 1:25-cv-00128) – filed 4/4/25
- Multi-state case challenging the dismantling of Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS)
- Mass. v. HHS (District of Massachusetts Case No. 25-cv-10814) – filed 4/4/25
- Multi-state case challenging NIH grant terminations and NIH delays in the grant-awarding process
- AAU v. Dept. of Energy (District of Massachusetts Case No. 1:25-cv-10912-ADB) – filed 4/14/25
- AAU-led case challenging DOE’s 15% cap on indirect cost recovery
- Maryland v. Corporation for National and Community Service, operating as AmeriCorps (District of Maryland Case No. 1:25-cv-01363) – filed 4/29/24
- Multi-state case challenging the dismantling of AmeriCorps
- ACLS, et. al. v. McDonald (Southern District of New York Case No: 1:25-cv-03657) – filed 5/1/2025
- Association-led case to stop the dismantling of the National Endowment for the Humanities
- New York v. Kennedy (District of Rhode Island Case No. 1:25-cv-00196) – filed 5/5/25
- Multi-state case challenging the dismantling of HHS
- AAU v. National Science Foundation (District of Massachusetts Case No. 1:25-cv-11231) – filed 5/5/25
- Association-led case challenging NSF’s cap on indirect cost recovery
- New York v. National Science Foundation (Southern District of New York Case No. 1:25-cv-04452) – filed 5/28/25
- Multi-state case challenging NSF’s cap on indirect cost recovery and award terminations
- AAU, et al. v. Department of Defense (District of Massachusetts, Case No. 1:25-cv-11740) – filed 6/16/25
- Association-led case challenging DOD’s cap on indirect cost recovery
- New Jersey v. OMB (District of Massachusetts, Case No. 1:25-CV-11816) – filed 6/24/25
- Multi-state case seeking a ruling that a change in “agency priorities” is not a sufficient basis under the Uniform Guidance to terminate grants
- Washington, et al. v. Department of Education (Western District of Washington, Case No. 2:25-cv-01228) – filed 6/30/25
- Multi-state case challenging Department of Education’s non-continuation of MHSP and SBMH grants