Donald Trump seeks to bring health-research funding under his control, Politico reports
Donald Trump has directed his budget director, Russ Vought, to draft an executive order to create a board that would decide which grants would be funded by the National Institutes of Health
U.S. President Donald Trump is aiming to centralize control of national health research funding under political appointees, according to Politico's report on Saturday, September 20, 2026. In an effort to shape the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant allocation process, Trump has instructed his budget director, Russ Vought, to draft an executive order creating a decision-making board.
This board would consist of NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, Vought, and the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, with the mandate to unanimously determine which grants receive funding. By implementing this structure, Vought would gain direct authority over the distribution of NIH's congressionally-appropriated funds.
The White House, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the NIH, have not yet responded to requests for comment. The move is taking place amid widespread criticism of recent federal research funding cuts, which were implemented last year to focus spending on major universities and deemed necessary to fund only robust science and reverse misguided priorities.
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