NIH grants worth billions could be legally invalid, Republicans claim

Congressional committee chairs allege National Institutes of Health officials “likely served unlawfully”, prompting a denial

Republican chairs of Congressional committees have alleged that officials at the National Institutes of Health may have been appointed in an unlawful way in 2021, and claimed that NIH grants worth billions of dollars could be legally invalid as a result.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as subcommittee chairs Brett Guthrie and Morgan Griffith, wrote to the secretary of health and human services, Xavier Becerra, this month setting out their concerns—which the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said “lack merit”.