The US government has cut research funding for cancer, Alzheimer’s, mental health, and other areas, with new grants for Alzheimer's and aging research being cut in half and new cancer research falling by 23%. The NIH went from funding roughly 5,000 new research grants in 2024 to just 3,900 in 2025. This comes as nearly 80 percent of the agency's budget is already covered for grants promised in previous years, leaving only 20% of the remaining remaining funding for new research. The Trump administration also terminated thousands of existing grants over the past year, with the leftover funds going to the US Treasury, not back to NIH. There are early signs that 2026 could be even worse for medical research.