WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — President Donald Trump has directed White House budget chief Russell Vought to draft an executive order that would create a new board to review National Institutes of Health grants, according to reports citing administration officials familiar with the discussions.
The proposed board would include Vought and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and would require unanimous approval before NIH could fund grants, Politico reported. The White House has not released the proposed order or announced when Trump might act on it.
The proposal followed a Friday White House meeting in which Vought argued that NIH continued to fund research that conflicted with administration priorities. Bhattacharya defended the agency’s existing grant process, according to people familiar with the discussion.
NIH received about $47.5 billion for fiscal 2026 and distributes much of that funding to universities, hospitals and research institutions. The agency currently uses a two-stage review process in which scientific panels evaluate applications before advisory councils and institute directors make final funding decisions.
The administration has already pursued broader oversight of federal grants. OMB proposed a separate rule that would expand political appointees’ authority over grant decisions, but Congress temporarily blocked that policy through December.
The discussions also came as the administration continued its dispute with Harvard University over federal research funding. Politico reported that Bhattacharya resisted a request during the meeting to cut additional NIH funding to Harvard. The university has challenged earlier funding actions in court.
An NIH spokesperson said the agency would spend its congressionally appropriated grant money and would not rescind existing NIH grants.
Separately, researchers filed a class-action lawsuit Sept. 16 challenging NIH screening practices for grants involving subjects such as diversity, gender identity and climate change. The lawsuit alleges that the policy violates the First Amendment and federal administrative law.
