I'm not even sure what is the end goal here, and it's very possible that there isn't one.
As implemented, the cut will reduce indirect cost to 15% of overall grant, whereas indirect cost could easily account for 50% at tier-1 research institutes.
This will gut quite a bit of research, but I'm not sure if private companies will pick up the slack. There are only so many Bell Labs, after all.
Perhaps the more likely motive is a quid pro quo, restoring indirect cost only if the institution dismantles wholesale ethnic studies programs and such.
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