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Trump Directs Plan for White House Board to Control NIH Grants

The proposal would insert political appointees into NIH grant approvals, risking politicization of how the agency spends its $48 billion research budget.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr Mehmet Oz stand behind US President Donald J. Trump as he makes an announcement on healthcare in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, September 18, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
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WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 16: Russell Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the second Trump administration speaks during a Senate Committee on the Budget hearing to examine the President's fiscal year 2027 budget proposal in Capitol Hill on April 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. The government's proposed budget for fiscal 2027, which includes a 40 percent increase to defense spending and a 10 percent cut to non defense spending.(Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 17: National Institutes of Health Director Jayanta Bhattacharya speaks during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on March 17, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bhattacharya is also serving as the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Overview

  • Over the weekend President Trump told OMB Director Russell Vought to draft an executive order that would create a White House board with authority over which NIH grants are funded.
  • Reports say the panel would include OMB chief Russell Vought and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and would require unanimous approval to award grants.
  • The Office of Management and Budget is drafting the order but has not finalized or issued it, and NIH has publicly said existing grant money will be spent.
  • The move follows earlier NIH reductions that cut funding for research tied to minority, LGBTQ and some women’s health topics and follows prior OMB efforts to expand political review of grants.
  • If implemented the board could shift research priorities, disrupt university grants and draw sustained scrutiny from lawmakers and the scientific community over political interference in peer review.