The White House is drafting an executive order to grant Russell Vought, head of the Office of Management and Budget, veto power over every individual grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This move, opposed by NIH director Jay Bhattacharya, represents another attempt by the administration to place research funding under political control following earlier failures in Congress and the courts.

The NIH administers approximately $47 billion annually across over 64,000 grants to academic researchers, supporting biomedical research ranging from basic biology to clinical trials. Under the proposed arrangement, grants would require unanimous approval from a committee consisting of both Vought and Bhattacharya to receive funding. This latest effort follows previous unsuccessful attempts by Vought to restrict funding for pandemic preparedness and health disparities research, which were blocked or reversed by Congress and the courts.