Trump Seeks to Further Tighten Grip on Biomedical Research: US Media
The plan would shift grant decisions from peer reviewers to political appointees and could affect more than 64,000 NIH awards a year, critics said.
- President Donald Trump is reportedly drafting an executive order to establish an external commission empowered to veto National Institutes of Health grants, potentially giving political appointees control over the agency's nearly $50 billion in biomedical research funding.
- White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought pushed for the oversight panel after accusing the NIH of funding 'woke' research, reportedly clashing with NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya during a contentious Friday meeting.
- Research!America President Russ Paulsen warned on Sunday that adding bureaucratic oversight would 'slow medical progress to a grinding halt,' threatening critical studies including Alzheimer's research.
- Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins and ranking member Patty Murray criticized the reported plan on Monday, warning that political review of grants undermines scientific merit and contradicts congressional intent.
- The proposal follows a wider administration campaign to restrict research funding, including previous unsuccessful attempts to freeze grants, as researchers continue legal challenges against the NIH for allegedly blocking grants to censor viewpoints on climate and diversity.
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30 Articles
Susan Collins Slams Trump Plan to ‘Politicize’ Grants
“Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) warned Monday that President Donald Trump would be defying Congress if he moves forward with empowering top political appointees to decide who gets grant funding for health research,” Politico reports. Said Collins: “Any attempt to politicize grantmaking… is contrary to congressional intent.”
Lawmakers bristle at Trump effort for tighter control of NIH
Key lawmakers are pushing back after reports revealed that the Trump administration is seeking even greater control over the National Institutes of Health grantmaking process. The effort, first reported by The Washington Post, includes potentially issuing an executive order or White House review of grants to weed out research contrary to President Donald Trump’s agenda. […]
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