The White House is attempting to gain veto power over all NIH grants, which would place greater political control over research funding decisions.

#RusselVought will reportedly be given veto power over all #NIH #grants On Friday, The Washington Post reported on a contentious #WhiteHouse meeting in which the director of the #NationalInstitutesofHealth (NIH), Jay Bhattacharya, tried to fend off yet another effort to place funding decisions under #political control. The move came from Russell Vought, head of the Office of Management and Budget ( #OMB ), which has sought to limit and control #research funds. The Post suggested that #Bhattacharya ended up on the losing side of the fight. This initial #leak has been confirmed and expanded on by outlets such as The New York Times and Politico. It now appears that the administration is drafting an executive order that would give Vought #veto power over every individual grant awarded by the NIH https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/09/trump-planning-to-hand-veto-power-over-nih-grants-to-political-appointee/

#WhiteHouse Moves to Take Control of N.I.H. #Grants #RussellVought , the director of the Office of Management and Budget, speaks during a White House event earlier this year. Mr. Vought’s efforts to impose more outside control over N.I.H. grant approvals have resulted in tension with the N.I.H. director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. #nih https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/science/nih-omb-grants-bhattacharya-vought.html