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4w ago

Trump Orders Plan for White House Board to Approve NIH Grants

The move would put political appointees into NIH grant decisions and could shift authority away from scientific peer review to the White House.

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

  • Last weekend a reported Oval Office meeting led President Trump to direct OMB Director Russell Vought to draft an executive order to create a new board to review NIH grants.
  • Reports say the board would include Vought and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and would require unanimous approval before a grant could be funded.
  • The order is still being drafted and has not been issued, and NIH officials have said that all current grant money will be spent as planned.
  • Researchers, universities and some lawmakers warned the proposal could politicize science, slow funding decisions and raise legal questions about Congress’s power to appropriate research money.
  • The plan follows earlier administration cuts and frozen grants for certain social and health topics and comes after Congress temporarily blocked an OMB rule to expand political review until mid-December.