As we near President Donald Trump’s July 4 goal to have his big, beautiful bill, there has been plenty of debate and pushback within the republican party regarding how to handle Medicaid and state and local tax (SALT) deductions. In stark contrast, Republicans — outside of Senator Susan Collins calling them “very troubling” — have been nearly silent regarding the president’s proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and cancer research. It appears Republicans will acquiesce to the president on these cuts and, a half-century after President Richard Nixon declared a war on cancer, Republicans will surrender that war.
In 1937, the U.S. formally declared its intent to be a leader in cancer research when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Cancer Act, which created the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In the succeeding nearly 90 years, presidents and Congresses led by both Democrats and Republicans have recommitted to the promise of finding a cure for cancer. This consistent bipartisan support has created better diagnostic tools to find cancer sooner, a better understanding of how cancer metastasizes, and how to target different cancers. Since the early 1990s, the U.S. has made major strides in survival rates of cancer. In addition, the U.S. has increased access to palliative care to treat the whole person, not just the disease, and introduced concurrent care for children to ensure patients, families, and communities are supported through a cancer diagnosis. Much of these improvements in care were from U.S. innovation through partnerships between academic centers, life sciences companies, private foundations, and the federal government. The majority of the support is through funding from the NIH and NCI which has made the U.S. the international leader in funding cancer research.
Regardless of improved prognosis and better support, we are still in search of a cure for cancer so a diagnosis remains scary. The U.S. needs to continue to push forward with innovative treatments and research. However, President Trump has repeatedly committed to cutting science and innovation funding at the NIH, NCI, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is in addition to the devastating and haphazard cuts to NIH grants by Elon Musk and DOGE. These federal cuts to cancer research have already stopped current research and will cause the U.S. to lose its place as the leader in cancer research. Where are the Congressional Republicans to push back on the cuts to NIH and NCI? Do they not realize this research helps all Americans, including them, their staff, and their constituents? Cancer does not discriminate based on political party, being a leader in cancer research is good for all Americans.
Representative Sean Casten (D-Ill.) recently spoke on the House floor about the federal cuts to research after hearing from a constituent whose son is fighting cancer. Casten was appropriately indignant when he stated: “Republicans fear Trump more than they fear cancer.” At first, this statement seems incredulous since cancer’s impact touches so many, it is hard to find an American who has not been impacted — whether experiencing it themselves, by their family, or in their community. Approximately 40% of people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes and, in 2024 alone, almost 15,000 children were diagnosed with cancer. Surely, Republicans do not fear losing their job more than cancer, right?
Although private foundations and the life science industries may increase their funding of cancer research, it will not be enough to make up for the nearly $8 billion the federal government provides. Nor will this replace the unique and necessary perspective of the federal government. So who picks up the mantle and leads in this space? On May 5, the European Union and France announced an over half-billion-dollar initiative to do just that. French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the initiative would fund research and bring foreign scientists to Europe. American scientists have already signaled they are likely to take advantage of an opportunity like this. This investment as the U.S. divests from research is going to have devastating impacts on generations of Americans. Americans will no longer be the first to access groundbreaking treatment or better diagnostics and once scientists leave the U.S. for other opportunities it is going to take a herculean effort to convince them to return.
Waiting until 2026 or 2028 for a Congress or administration who believes in science again is not enough as every day nearly 5,500 Americans are diagnosed and 1,600 die from cancer. They need the trials and research to continue now and in their communities. For individuals enrolled in the trials stopped or delayed by Trump and DOGE, I imagine they would not say they “didn’t get anything out of it,” as Trump indicated. If Congressional Republicans acquiesce to Trump and further cut research, Representative Casten will be completely right about them fearing Trump and losing their job more than they fear cancer. They will have surrendered the war on cancer and that will be devastating for all Americans.
