Legal experts say the proposed cuts violate federal law and are unlikely to survive a legal challenge by states.

The suits were filed in rapid succession in the days after the NIH announced on February 7 that it would cap so-called indirect costs at a 15% rate as of Feb. 10, leading the judge to issue a temporary restraining order that placed a nationwide pause on the measure.

A federal judge is set to hear arguments today for and against extending a block on the National Institutes of Health’s recent directive to cut support for medical research—much of which happens at universities—by more than $4 billion.