Rep. Andy Harris, a current member of the U.S. Congress representing Maryland’s 1st district since 2011, shared several tweets on March 7, 2025, concerning President Trump’s agenda and changes to NIH funding policies. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Harris has been active in political discourse surrounding medical research funding.
In a tweet posted on March 7, 2025, at 16:02 UTC, Rep. Andy Harris expressed his support for advancing President Trump’s agenda. He stated: “We need to advance President Trump’s agenda. That’s what he’s asked for, and I’m going to urge all the members of the Freedom Caucus to get behind it.”
Later that day at 20:55 UTC, Harris addressed changes in NIH funding through another tweet. He wrote about capping the NIH indirect cost rate at 15%, stating that this measure by President Trump aims to protect critical medical research. He mentioned further details in his op-ed published in Newsweek: “By capping the NIH indirect cost rate at 15%, President Trump is protecting critical medical research.”
In a subsequent tweet at 21:53 UTC on the same day, Harris criticized mainstream media for fear-mongering regarding these changes. He argued that the new NIH indirect cost rate would direct more funds towards actual research instead of administrative expenses such as college office parties and DEI staff costs: “The MSM must stop the fear mongering.”
