Spending deal comes with a bonus: Blocking political control of grants

On Tuesday, the US House of Representatives approved a stopgap spending measure to fund the government until early December. The measure is expected to be signed by President Trump to prevent a government shutdown just before the midterm elections. This is a common practice in recent years, as it's often challenging to gain the necessary political backing for a full-year budget.

The Republican caucus within the House faced internal disagreements, leading them to adopt a Senate-passed spending bill. For scientists and their supporters, this adoption proved beneficial. The Senate's budget bill, passed in August, included a provision to prevent the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from implementing rules that would grant political appointees complete control over funding decisions and allow them to cancel grants at will.

This proposed rule garnered significant criticism from scientific and health-focused organizations, who viewed it as detrimental to scientific endeavors.