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Trump seeks to bring health-research funding under his control, Politico reports
Reuters • • nation
Key Points:
- President Donald Trump has directed his budget director, Russ Vought, to draft an executive order creating a board to oversee which grants are funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
- The proposed board would include NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and Vought, requiring unanimous decisions on grant awards, effectively giving political appointees direct control over NIH funding.
- This move follows criticism of recent federal research funding cuts aimed at major universities, which have led to frozen or canceled grants at many institutions.
- The Trump administration defends these cuts as necessary to prioritize funding for what it considers solid science and to correct previous funding priorities.
- The Office of Management and Budget, the White House, and the Health and Human Services Department have not yet commented on the reported plan.
