Vought Presses $47 Billion NIH for Grant Review as Trump Weighs New Scrutiny

1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 19

$47 billion NIH came under fresh Oval Office pressure Friday as budget chief Russell Vought urged President Donald Trump to intensify scrutiny of grants he said still fund priorities at odds with the administration.
Vought floated an additional review of NIH grant-making and discussed a possible executive order creating a commission to examine awards, while NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya defended the agency's process.
NIH said there would be no rescissions of existing grant funds, even as the agency has already cut hundreds of millions of dollars for minority, gay and transgender health research and issued fewer grants in areas such as women's health.
The clash underscores a broader Trump push to tighten political control over federal spending; OMB has sought more authority over grants, but bipartisan voters and some Republican lawmakers have resisted deeper NIH cuts.