The National Science Foundation placed limits on new grants for Duke, Harvard, Princeton and Yale, according to internal agency documents reported by Nature. As of April 9, the agency imposed a hold on future awards to the four universities, sharply reducing new grant approvals even as previously awarded funds remain accessible. The NSF’s Office of Award Management paused 33 proposals tied to researchers at the institutions, and the average review time for those proposals reportedly stretched to 91 days, compared with an approximately 10-day typical finalize window. NSF declined to comment on the reported restrictions. The action underscores a broader compliance-and-cashflow risk for research universities facing administrative uncertainty around federal funding continuity, particularly during periods when grant pipelines are essential for faculty hiring, graduate student support, and lab operations.