WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya reportedly refused President Donald Trump’s request to cut federal research funding to Harvard University during an Oval Office meeting Friday, as the administration considers tighter oversight of NIH grants.
Politico first reported the exchange. Bhattacharya declined to comment when The Harvard Crimson contacted him about the meeting.
The disagreement came as Trump directed Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to draft an executive order creating a new board to review NIH grants. Under the proposal, Vought and Bhattacharya would sit on the board, and both would have to approve grants before NIH awards funding. The White House has not released the proposed order.
The administration has repeatedly targeted Harvard’s federal research funding. In September 2025, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ruled that the government unlawfully canceled about $2.2 billion in Harvard research grants. The administration appealed the decision.
NIH had also canceled more than $110 million in grants involving Harvard and affiliated hospitals between late February and early April 2025, according to federal records reviewed by The Crimson.
Bhattacharya previously worked at Stanford University with Harvard President Alan Garber. The Crimson reported that Bhattacharya later worked behind the scenes to help negotiate a possible agreement between Harvard and the White House over federal research funding.
The administration has faced separate legal challenges over changes to NIH funding. In January, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals permanently blocked an NIH policy that would have capped reimbursements for research institutions’ indirect costs at 15%.
The White House has not announced whether Trump will sign an executive order creating the proposed NIH grant review board.
