White House halts plan to give political appointees control over NIH grants

The White House has halted a planned executive order that would have given political appointees more control over National Institutes of Health research grants, according to Politico. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the administration was backing down, The Hill reported. STAT said the order appeared to be “looking dead,” citing a person familiar with the decision and Collins.

The proposal would have created a commission of political appointees, including Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, with veto power over grant awards, STAT reported. Democrats and Republicans in Congress opposed creating such a commission, according to The New York Times. Collins had urged the administration not to proceed, arguing in a letter that research funding should be based on scientific merit and value rather than political ideology, STAT reported.