WATCH: Davids Sounds Alarm on President Trump’s Cuts to Cancer Research

KANSAS CITY, KS — Today, Representative Sharice Davids visited the University of Kansas Medical Center to speak directly with doctors, researchers, and public health advocates about the urgent need to protect medical research funding. She sounded the alarm on the Trump Administration’s recent cuts to cancer research and medical innovation, warning that continued rollbacks in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding threaten lifesaving breakthroughs and could limit Kansas families’ access to cutting-edge care and affordable prescriptions.

“These aren’t just numbers in a spreadsheet — these are cancer patients waiting on treatment, students preparing to be the next generation of doctors, and parents hoping for a cure,” said Davids. “Here in Kansas, we’re proud to have world-class institutions leading lifesaving research. Therefore, President Trump’s decision to slash cancer research funding is short-sighted and dangerous. Kansans deserve leaders who invest in their health — not pull the rug out from under them.”

WACTH: Davids speaks on her efforts to push back against the Trump Administration’s cancer research cuts

Since January, the Trump Administration has terminated more than 2,600 NIH awards — totaling nearly $9 billion — under the claim that these research projects no longer serve the agency’s priorities. That includes more than seven grants awarded to University of Kansas institutions on important issues like cancer cell growth, COVID-19, access to healthy food, youth violence, and public health studies.

Davids has taken action to stop the rollback, including a proposed 37 percent cut to cancer research. She helped introduce the Prevent Halting of Active Research Act, which would force NIH to honor existing agreements, release withheld funds, and prevent future politically motivated cancellations. Davids also twice introduced amendments to the Republican budget law that would restore and protect NIH contracts, though both were blocked from consideration.

Davids’ visit highlighted the broader cost of these cuts — not just in research setbacks, but in workforce disruption and access to care. Kansas institutions are already seeing the ripple effects, with lost funding leading to hiring freezes, paused clinical trials, and fewer opportunities for early-career scientists. Davids emphasized that cancer doesn’t care about politics — but the consequences of these policies will be felt by families across the country.