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Norms Impact

Republicans silent after Trump reportedly slashes funds for Alzheimer’s center

A federally celebrated Alzheimer’s research center was cut and its scientists fired, signaling that public-health infrastructure can be dismantled by political discretion without transparent justification.

Executive

Feb 21, 2025

Sources

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-doge-cuts-tom-cole-alzheimers-research-rcna193200

Summary

The Trump administration reportedly slashed funding at the Roy Blunt Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research at the National Institutes of Health, resulting in layoffs and firings including the incoming director. The move reverses a recently celebrated, bipartisan-facing Republican investment in a named federal research institution tied to a retiring GOP power broker. The practical consequence is an immediate loss of specialized staff and leadership that experts say will set Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s research back substantially.

Reality Check

When a White House can abruptly hollow out a federal medical research hub by firing senior scientists and leadership, we normalize governance by purge rather than by evidence—and that precedent ultimately shrinks our own access to competent, stable public institutions. On these facts alone, the conduct is not clearly criminal: agency staffing and budget decisions are often lawful exercises of executive authority, even when destructive. The deeper breach is institutional—using federal personnel and funding as a political lever without transparent criteria, insulating the decision from accountable oversight and inviting future retaliatory dismantling of any program tied to political opponents or inconvenient public needs.

Detail

The National Institutes of Health dedicated a major Alzheimer’s research program as the Roy Blunt Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research after former Sen. Roy Blunt announced his retirement in 2021. At the 2022 dedication ceremony, multiple Republican lawmakers emphasized the importance of increased funding for Alzheimer’s and dementia research, including Rep. Tom Cole, who cited a fivefold increase and argued the investment could reduce long-term federal costs.

This week, The New Republic reported that the Trump administration slashed funding for the center. People familiar with the situation told the outlet that about one-tenth of the center’s workers were let go, including the incoming director. Sen. Patty Murray said senior scientists and the center’s acting director were fired by the Trump administration. Cole’s office did not respond to a request for comment about the reported cuts.