NIH leader who filed whistleblower report sues over her firing

Jeanne Marrazzo, a former leader at the National Institutes of Health, has filed suit against the Trump administration, arguing it violated her freedom of speech and whistleblower protections. 

Marrazzo, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, filed a whistleblower report in September accusing the administration of placing her on leave for vocally opposing its moves to cancel grants and ramp up the involvement of political appointees at the agency by placing her on administrative leave. Later that month, she was fired from that position. 

“I spoke up because the decisions by HHS leadership have put the public’s health at risk and wasted billions of dollars — actions that will have devastating consequences for Americans’ safety and wellbeing for decades to come. I was fired for calling this out, but I will not stay silent,” she said in a statement.