{
  "id": 8609985,
  "title": "Donald Trump seeks to bring health-research funding under his control, Politico reports",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/donald-trump-seeks-to-bring-health-research-funding-under-his-control",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-20T04:44:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu - Sci-Tech",
    "slug": "the-hindu-sci-tech",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/donald-trump-seeks-to-bring-health-research-funding-under-his-control-politico-reports/article71487082.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to bring a significant portion of national health research funding under the control of his political appointees, according to a report by Politico on September 20, 2026. The administration has tasked its budget director, Russ Vought, with drafting an executive order to establish a board that will oversee grant funding decisions for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the news outlet reported, citing two administration officials familiar with the situation. The proposed board would consist of NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, Vought, and the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. The board would be mandated to make unanimous decisions on grant awards, according to the report.\n\nThe suggested arrangement would grant Vought direct influence over how the health research agency allocates its congressionally-appropriated funds, the report added. However, the Office of Management and Budget, the White House, and the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the NIH, have not yet commented on the matter outside regular business hours.\n\nThe move coincides with growing concern over the U.S. government's recent research funding cuts, implemented last year to streamline federal spending at major universities. These cuts have led to the freezing or cancellation of grants at numerous institutions. The Trump administration argues that these reductions are necessary to ensure that government funding supports only scientifically sound research and to rectify misguided priorities.",
  "summary": "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",
  "key_points": [
    "President Trump plans to control health research funding, Politico reports (September 20, 2026)",
    "Proposed board to oversee NIH grant decisions, including NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya",
    "Board members to make unanimous grant award decisions, according to report"
  ],
  "editors_take": "This development would concentrate control over health research funding in the hands of Trump appointees, potentially shifting priorities and grant awards away from traditional NIH decision-making processes.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu Health",
        "title": "Donald Trump seeks to bring health-research funding under his control, Politico reports",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/donald-trump-seeks-to-bring-health-research-funding-under-his-control-8614655",
        "published": "2026-09-20T04:44:31.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Euronews",
        "title": "CNN, MS NOW, POLITICO journalists denied access to the White House after Trump said he'd bar them",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/cnn-ms-now-politico-journalists-denied-access-to-the-white-house",
        "published": "2026-09-20T07:30:53.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}