MIT’s president warned that federally funded research on campus is declining sharply, citing federal policy shifts that are reducing both ongoing research activity and new federal award volume. In a video message to the campus community, Sally Kornbluth said federally funded research is down more than 20% compared with this time last year and that the number of new federal research awards is also down more than 20%. Kornbluth called the change a “striking loss” for one of the most influential research communities, signaling that the impact is not limited to proposal pipelines but is already affecting current research operations and graduate student recruitment. For universities dependent on federal grants, the MIT warning underscores a high-stakes compliance and planning challenge: shifting federal priorities and administrative rules can quickly erode research momentum, affecting faculty capacity and lab staffing.