Trump Reportedly to Establish Political Board to Control NIH Funding
U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly taking yet another step to establish more political control over National Institutes of Health grant funding—you know the money that’s supposed to go to scientists researching ways to better prevent, treat and control different diseases. On Friday, Trump apparently told White House Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought to draft an executive order that would create a board that would determine which grants the NIH would fund, according to Sophia Cai and Tim Röhn reporting for POLITICO.
The Board Would Reportedly Determine What NIH Grants Will Be Funded
Would such a board be comprised of independent experts in medicine and health, who could serve as the voices of science and patients without fear of reprisal? How about no. Instead, such a board would consist of political appointees of Trump such as Vought and NIH director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, who ultimately could have a lot of incentive to do whatever Trump wants—assuming that they want to keep their jobs.
For an NIH grant to be awarded, this political board would reportedly have to unanimously approve of it. That means a single dissent could sink a grant like a fruitcake in a tank of water. This would basically give the U.S. President and his political appointees unprecedented control over the now $48 billion in funds that Congress has allocated to the NIH for the 2027 fiscal year.
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As news from the POLITICO article spread over the weekend, science and patient advocates began offering concerned responses.
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And Research!America, a non-profit medical and health research advocacy alliance, issued a statement opposing the formation of political review committee. This statement included the following quote from its president and CEO Russ Paulsen: “Adding more bureaucrats would slow medical progress to a grinding halt. American patients and their families waiting for the next lifesaving treatment or medical breakthrough should not have to wait even longer.”
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