I’m not sure what you’re talking about: the percentage of indirects that goes to admin costs has been capped by the feds to 26% for _ages_.

Where will these people conduct their research?

bloated administrative complex aka the shared mass spec. people can simply buy all the expensive lab equipment as needed instead of sharing it!

"Having 50% of their grant leeched off" is not how indirects work.

You know what's a much bigger problem for people doing research? That the budget for a non-modular R01 from the NIH hasn't changed since the Clinton administration.

When the government hires a consultant, the rate charged is usually 2-3x the salary of that consultant; 50% is well below the 100-200+% rates you see all the time in business.