Key facts
- President Donald Trump directed OMB Director Russell Vought to draft an executive order to centralize control over federal health research funding.
- The proposed order would establish a board of political appointees to decide on NIH grant awards.
- The board would require unanimous decisions for grant approvals.
- Critics warn the move could politicize scientific research.
- A congressional restriction on a similar OMB plan expires in mid-December.
President Donald Trump has directed his budget director, Russell Vought, to draft an executive order that would centralize control over federal health research funding under political appointees. This move escalates the administration's efforts to influence the grant-making process for scientific research.
According to officials familiar with the matter, Trump and Vought discussed the proposal in a meeting that also included NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya. The proposed order would create an external committee that could veto awards in biomedical research that do not align with Trump’s goals. The board would require unanimous decisions for grant approvals.
Vought has argued that political appointees should have more authority to review and terminate grants that do not align with the president's priorities, suggesting that career bureaucrats at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have favored progressive academics' research. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had previously proposed a government-wide rule in May to give political appointees more power over federal grants.
This proposal has drawn criticism from lawmakers, scientists, and state attorneys general, who warn that it could politicize scientific research. Congress had previously included a provision in a September funding bill that barred the OMB from finalizing an earlier version of Vought's plan using appropriated funds. This restriction expires in mid-December, and the OMB could proceed if lawmakers do not extend it in new legislation.