Universities and institutions across the country are facing federal grant freezes under the Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk’s de-facto government agency.

These freezes came after Musk responded to an X post on Feb. 2 detailing grants awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services to WSU. Musk called these grants “illegal payments.”

Phil Weiler, WSU marketing and communications vice president, said these grants of approximately $1.3 million were given to WSU’s Center for Trauma Education and Community Health, formerly the Child and Family Research Unit. The Center is completely funded by grants from entities like HHS and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The funding WSU receives from HHS and SAMHSA goes toward equipping various schools across the US to provide support for students with trauma and various mental health needs, said Natalie Turner-Depue, director of the Center for Trauma Education and Community Health.

WSU was likely spotlighted in the original post, as the center works contractually with Lutheran Community Services Northwest as licensed mental health agents in the region, Turner-Depue said. She said seeing WSU included in such a post was startling.

“Nobody contacted us about that review, so it was very confusing. At the end of the day, being a grant-funded center and not having any type of stable operational funding, those grants are critical for us to be able to provide support to our most vulnerable students,” she said. “When these grants are being targeted and threatened to be removed, that’s our livelihood. It makes it very difficult for us to complete our mission.”

While no current grants have actually been revoked and with the grant specifically implicated in the post lasting until September 2026, the center has undertaken efforts to strengthen partnerships within WSU and search for alternative sources of funding to prepare for the event that future federal grants will be much harder to receive, Turner-Depue said.

“That’s the piece we’re just watching for now – is funding that we were expecting to apply for still going to be released and will it be something that we have the ability to apply for or will we have to look for other funding sources?” she said.

This occurrence is just part of a larger struggle WSU and other universities are dealing with in the face of possible decreases in federal funding for research, especially from entities like the National Institutes of Health. The NIH is responsible for negotiating how much would be paid for research costs (i.e., maintaining, building and staffing laboratories), Weiler said.

Before decisions made by the Trump Administration, 30% of every dollar spent was to be made available to universities for research purposes. This rate has now been cut to 15%.

These cuts are not as simple as ‘less money,’ as the universities take these grants and funds as money that can already be spent, Weiler said.

“If you suddenly halfway through say, ‘We’re going to reduce you by half of what we’ve been paying the institution,’ it’s not like we can say, ‘Well, okay, fine, we’re just not going to do it anymore.’ ” he said. “With the NIH, that would cost us about $5 million, which is really significant because we’re already in a tight financial environment. If all the federal agencies were to cut back to that 15% rate, that’s somewhere in the neighborhood of about $22 million”

While those on the university side cannot conclusively say why these decisions are being made, it can be said that these are attempts to root out alleged corruption, Weiler said.

“They believe that there is waste, fraud and abuse. Rather than trying to root out specific issues, they are just ceasing all activity. I think it’s hard to take that claim at face value given the way that they’re approaching it,” he said. “The ironic thing too is part of the staffing that gets paid by these indirect [federal] costs are staff whose job it is to ensure that money is spent appropriately.”

WSU’s position as an R1 research university and land-grant institution makes these developments all the more complicated, Weiler said.

“R1 status is frankly coveted, so it is a big deal because, particularly for land-grant institutions, one of the three legs of the stool that makes up our mission is research,” he said. “We want to be able to provide opportunities for researchers and students.”

The lack of information regarding current and future decisions only increases the chaotic feeling for all involved and makes it difficult to find solutions, Weiler said.

In the meantime, WSU is working to preserve as much of its current finances as possible to maintain flexibility. This will involve creating subject matter and expert teams to examine what can be done to prevent and reduce immediate spending and working with other universities to create strategies and understand the implications of these decisions on school operations, Weiler said.

“WSU joined a lawsuit with the state of Washington and 20 other states across the country seeking a temporary restraining order against that 15% flat rate for indirect costs for grants,” he said. “Nobody expected the kinds of reductions we’re seeing, both at the state and federal level, and so the more we can maintain flexibility financially, the better off we’re going to be.”

As events unfold, it is hoped government officials will be more careful and informed with their decisions to avoid further consequences, Turner-Depue said.

“It feels a little bit like a ‘ready-shoot-aim approach,’ and when those things happen, they tend to be reactionary and they can cause more harm than good,” she said. “My hope is that people see the value in the work that is happening and the value in these programs and the funding that comes with them.”

In uncertain times like these, it is advised that the community takes time to remain informed while taking care to avoid becoming overwhelmed and falling down a “doom-gloom spiral,” Turner-Depue said.

Should more accusations similar to Musk’s be made, people are cautioned not to believe these at face value without concrete evidence, Weiler said.

“There have been a number of claims made without any evidence at all to substantiate [them]. You have to decide for yourself whether you believe those are accurate claims or not,” he said. “I certainly don’t have any reason to believe that this small grant to help children who’ve experienced trauma is somehow an example of waste.”

Those frustrated by current events may also choose to make their voices heard, Weiler said.

“Something that any of us can do is if we’re not happy with what’s happening, we are citizens of the United States and we have the ability to reach out to our elected officials and let them know how we feel,” he said. “If somebody has concerns, whatever the case may be, [and] if there’s something that’s happening, contact your members of Congress [and] your senators and let them know how you feel. You’re a voter, you’re a citizen [and] you have the right to share your opinion.”