Trump Orders Political Review Board for NIH Research Grants

President Donald Trump has directed the Office of Management and Budget to draft an executive order establishing a board of political appointees to review and potentially veto National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants. The proposed board, which would include OMB Director Russell Vought and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, would require unanimous decisions to approve funding. This move aims to eliminate research the administration characterizes as woke, specifically targeting projects focused on gender ideology, health disparities, and climate change.

The initiative follows a contentious Oval Office meeting where Trump expressed frustration over the inability to force conservative cultural changes on academia. The administration has already frozen or cut billions in grants containing keywords like equity and gender. This effort coincides with a proposed Uniform Guidance rule that would expand the government's ability to terminate awards, though a continuing resolution has delayed that rule's implementation until mid-December.

Internal conflict has emerged between Russell Vought, who seeks greater political control and spending cuts, and Jay Bhattacharya, who has defended the agency's merit-based process. Simultaneously, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit alleging the NIH is unconstitutionally censoring scientific research to comply with political priorities.

Lawmakers have condemned the plan. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins stated that imposing political review undermines the principle that funding is based on scientific need, while ranking member Patty Murray questioned if the president is using grants to settle scores.