Ohio State lost $29 million in three months through DOGE grant cuts
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Between just three months and two federal agencies, DOGE canceled nearly $70 million in grants to Ohio State University, a third of which went unpaid.
NBC4 analyzed all National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institute of Health (NIH) grant cancellations under DOGE to track their impact on Ohio State. According to federal grant cancellation records, DOGE -- the Department of Government Efficiency started by President Donald Trump in January and ran by Elon Musk for several months -- has canceled 28 grants to Ohio State researchers, costing the university more than $29 million in unpaid funds.
Both the NSF and the NIH updated their grant award requirements this spring, disqualifying many grants that had already been awarded. In April, both agencies announced all grants must comply with anti-diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies under the Trump administration. Grants that did not align or that looked at "misinformation/disinformation" were canceled, gutting any funding that hadn't yet been paid out.
Many of the canceled grants examined underresearched groups, like HIV prevention in Black men or suicide risks among bisexual young adults. However, nearly a third of the grants were not tailored to any specific group, instead looking at things like resistance to viral infections or a new treatment for nonoperable brain cancers.
In total, Ohio State lost out on $29,265,841 of $69,976,445 promised grant funds between March and May. Neither agency has reported canceling any OSU grants so far in June or before March.
According to DOGE, the number is even higher. On March 23, DOGE claimed it canceled three grants to OSU, saving taxpayers more than $1 million. However, the university had no record of these canceled grants or any existing grants matching the descriptions, so those are not reflected in the data.
These cancellations often reflect months or years of research. OSU Engineering Education Research Assistant Professor Julie Aldridge said her $713,155 grant was canceled because DOGE misinterpreted the term "climate," which she used to discuss the workplace environment. She was about halfway through with her project examining underrepresented groups' retention rates in doctoral engineering when it was canceled.
“We learned that keyword searches are being used to identify awards for termination and ‘climate’ is a trigger word,” Aldridge said. “The searches are automated, which means the keyword’s context is lost.”
Typically, a grant cancellation can be appealed; however, the NSF said any grants canceled for no longer aligning with the agency's new goals are final and ineligible for an appeal. Aldridge said she was appealing nevertheless for procedural reasons.
Despite cancellations, research continues at Ohio State, which is providing updates online as federal policies shift.
"We are grateful for the research support we receive from our federal partners as these investments literally save lives right here in Ohio," OSU spokesperson Ben Johnson said. "Across the university, research continues, which benefits farmers, patients, military personnel, law enforcement, small businesses and Ohioans in all 88 counties, but we are closely monitoring and managing federal notifications that have impacted a number of our faculty and laboratories."