The abrupt pause in hiring, public communications, meetings and training workshops for some scientists at the Maryland-based National Institutes of Health since President Donald Trump took office is a threat to important medical research, some Maryland Democratic lawmakers warned Monday.

In a letter to the acting head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the lawmakers asked for “an end to this administrative chaos” while describing Trump’s actions as “sharply disrupting” work at the agency in Bethesda.

“NIH attracts our nation’s brightest scientists, physicians, health care providers and other experts but, with these crippling blows to its mission and without sufficient staff going forward, NIH will be unable to realize its vital mission,” wrote U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin and U.S. Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen.

The communications freeze, ordered by Acting Secretary Dorothy A. Fink after Trump’s inauguration, paused the issuance of all news announcements, regulations, grant approvals and more through Feb. 1. Fink, in a memo obtained by CNN, said it’s important for Trump’s appointees to review and approve all regulations, documents and communications as the new administration considers its plan for managing operations.

The restrictions also halted some advisory committee meetings and study sections — which are used to make decisions on research grants — while temporarily banning agency staff travel. A training workshop for junior scientists was also stopped as it was ongoing, the publication Science reported. The hiring freeze impacting many other government agencies has led to NIH rescinding job offers for anyone scheduled to start Feb. 8 or later, according to Science.

Maryland Democrats have said they are “gravely concerned” about the targeting of the federal workforce, which Maryland relies on more than other states. They’ve warned about the potential consequences, including the “silencing of our scientists.”

“Unfortunately, President Trump has already abruptly imposed numerous baffling restrictions on federal agencies, which we understand are sharply disrupting NIH’s operations,” Raskin, Van Hollen and Alsobrooks wrote.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for secretary of the department overseeing NIH, is scheduled for confirmation hearings on Wednesday and Thursday at the U.S. Capitol. Alsobrooks, a freshman Democrat, is on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee that will question him Thursday.

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