Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈

Omg NAILED HIM 🤣

Bombshell

Harvard is seriously considering to resolve dispute "through the courts rather than a negotiated settlement"

"A deal with the Trump administration is not imminent"

Well OK then, Harvard holding strong after all! Let it be inspiration for other unis who have not folded yet 💪

Public Science Engagement Using Social Media — Center for Wildlife Studies

I’ve partnered with the Center for Wildlife Studies to make an online take-at-your-own-pace version of my “public science engagement using social media” professional development workshop.

You can take it for graduate course credit, CPE credit, or just to learn a useful new skill.

We knew this was coming. The admin is going to want to fold immediately, so it’s up to the students, staff, faculty, and alumni—the people who really *are* the university—to agitate for our integrity.

Those are def serious issues. Both are being *somewhat* addressed in provisions in these approps bill but don’t yet go far enough. For instance, an amendment was introduced yesterday to protect against revisions but that failed along party lines.

Cool thread below on how the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) is responding to the current moment 👇

Judge Declines to Order Trump Administration to Restore Research Cuts

NY Times article with more context [gift link]:

Pressure from 13 GOP Senators is one thing that helped with the NIH reversal: www.britt.senate.gov/wp-content/u...

NEW: Trump's suspensions of UCLA's research grants is around 800 -- the ~300 we knew about for NSF and *500* NIH grants. That's according to a memo a UCLA administrator sent to the campus's researchers with grants two hours ago.

More on why the Court of Federal Claims, unlike District Courts, is not a real remedy for the extent of destruction caused:

Not content with the recent failed attempt at NIH, Vought now moves to block already-approved CDC funding.

*Again* via a footnote! The swift reversal at NIH offers hope that pressure can work here too to correct a self-made injury.

@altcdc.altgov.info

YouTube video by Road Less Marveled May 1, 1969: Fred Rogers testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications

With news that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down due to Trump’s meddling, it’s worth watching Mr. Rogers testifying to the Senate about the real value of what we’ve all lost.

This August, we’re turning concern into collective action and you’re invited.

Our founder & executive director @cdelawalla.bsky.social breaks it down here 👇

youtu.be/AaYs9Il9Hy0?...

We’ve got the tools, training, & community to make it easy. Links in thread to get involved!

Appreciate this clarification:

🙄 Judea Pearl: "well I only care if it's *my* grant that's cut. Retribution on others is totally fine."

And just as the govt has been rapidly appealing district court decisions it doesn't like, the Court of Appeals is one option for the 16-state AG plaintiffs as well.

So we'll see how it continues to develop.

NSF and NIH suspend grants to UCLA Move follows Trump administration finding that school didn’t effectively combat antisemitism

The Trump administration is launching a new wave of attacks on universities, and UCLA is the latest target.

My reporting on how the university has been hit and how some of its scientists are responding:
www.science.org/content/arti...

District Court Blocks NIH Effort to Terminate Critical Research Grants Relating to LGBTQI+ Health Today, a U.S. district court judge blocked the National Institutes of Health from terminating research grants that funded essential research addressing the health of sexual and gender minorities, incl...

In more positive grant-termination news:

Plaintiffs in PHR v NIH secured a prelim injunction reinstating hundreds of NIH grants today!

Key point: the judge in this case rejected the Tucker Act arg. Exact opposite of NY v NSF.

Docket here: www.courtlistener.com/docket/70320...

Press release ⤵️

Ah gotcha! Secondary as in secondary ed/teachers. Yeah not great...

Not sure I follow. Explain more about the distinction you're drawing?

NEW: some tough NSF litigation news--

Judge Cronan (Trump appointee) in NY v NSF (16 states challenging NSF grant terminations) just denied Plaintiffs' motion for prelim injunction.

Says Tucker Act likely requires claims to be filed in Fed Claims Court.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

See below why it's an unattractive option:

Namely, any $ relief sought would be for the individual plaintiffs, without the option for the court to reverse the broader policy enactment as illegal.

Nice! The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) is the lead plaintiff on a separate case for NSF grant terminations.

And they're having their annual conference at same time and location as that case's first oral hearing:

Next Thu, Aug 7, at 1 pm ET: www.courtlistener.com/docket/70576...

Not quite. Order is saying: can still file in the Court of Federal Claims.

Which allows for suits against the govt for monetary damages. But not really a great option in practice for variety of reasons.

Which is also separate from the "administrative appeal" option that NSF shut down.

Thakur, et al. v. Trump, et al., 25-4249 - CourtListener.com Docket for Thakur, et al. v. Trump, et al., 25-4249 — Brought to you by Free Law Project, a non-profit dedicated to creating high quality open legal information.

Separate case #2 about NSF terminations:

Was preliminary injunction to reinstate terminated NSF grants in class action for U of California researchers.

Which has led to successful reinstatements (e.g., I've heard directly from UC folks being able to draw down $).

In Court of Appeals now:

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICS TEACHERS, INC. v. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, 1:25-cv-01923 - CourtListener.com Docket for AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICS TEACHERS, INC. v. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, 1:25-cv-01923 — Brought to you by Free Law Project, a non-profit dedicated to creating high quality open legal...

Separate case #1 about NSF terminations:

A coalition of non-profits and an union, repped by Democracy Forward, will have their first oral argument next Thurs, Aug 7.

Includes AAPT, AAC&U, AAUP, AERA, UAW, WEPAN as plaintiffs.

Docket here:

Plaintiffs’ first two causes of action plead claims under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). Through these causes of action, Plaintiffs ultimately advance two kinds of claims. First, Plaintiffs challenge NSF’s already-completed grant terminations and ask the Court to order those grants—and thus the funding for Plaintiffs’ IHEs—restored. The Court concludes that it likely lacks subject matter jurisdiction over this type of retrospective claim because Plaintiffs, in essence, seek monetary relief from the federal government in an amount exceeding $10,000 and the Court of Federal Claims has exclusive jurisdiction over that kind of claim. Second, Plaintiffs’ causes of action under the APA also assert a claim to vacate the Priority Directive and prospectively enjoin its implementation. While in isolation such a claim would tend to lay comfortably within this Court’s jurisdiction under the APA, at this preliminary stage Plaintiffs have not carried their burden of persuasion of showing that splitting their claims with the Court of Federal Claims would be permissible. The Court also concludes that subject matter jurisdiction is likely lacking over Plaintiffs’ three nonstatutory review causes of action because alternative procedures exist for the review of those claims and because Plaintiffs have not established that NSF plainly acted contrary to a clear and mandatory statutory prohibition or otherwise disregarded a clear statutory command. Thus, and for reasons that follow, Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction is denied.

👎 BOOO: Federal judge just denied to reinstate terminated NSF grants in the 16 state AG case.

There's still two other cases about NSF grant terminations (one has a hearing next week!). Next post.

So, not the end of the story. But not a great update either. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

If you're a UCLA researcher (PI, grad student, etc) with an NSF, NIH or other suddenly suspended grant, please email or DM me.

I'm trying to confirm what the suspension letters say and how extensive the NIH suspensions are.

Email: Mikhail at calmatters dot org

1/ The Senate Appropriations Committee just approved key FY2026 spending bills 🧪 including the one that funds the NIH, CDC, and public education. ✅

But don’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. This is just the first step, and a shutdown showdown is looking likely. 🧵

Update: I offered this simple amendment in the Appropriations Committee to say no President can withhold funds from a college to try to control their speech.

Failed 14-15. Every Republican voted to endorse Trump’s censorship.