The plan by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to subject all United States research grants to political oversight has been halted by the US Senate – at least for now.
A clause preventing the OMB from introducing any new rules was included in the non-partisan temporary spending Bill passed by the Senate in the early hours of Saturday morning.
But the Bill is not yet law, and the fate of the OMB’s new law now lies with the US Congress, which will decide after its August recess whether to adopt the Senate’s resolution.
The OMB’s proposed new law would enable political appointees to review all government grant proposals and to terminate existing grants if they did not align with political priorities – explicitly specifying that all awards “demonstrably advance the President’s policy priorities”.
It would also prevent research on gender and diversity, equity and inclusion, and heavily restrict international scientific collaborations.
OMB director Russell Vought, a key author of the right-wing Project 2025, wanted to introduce the new regulations in October.
Massive outcry
But the proposal sparked a massive outcry from the scientific community, with scientists stating that the new regulation undermines the non-partisan award process and politicises science.
Republican Senator Susan Collins, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said after the Senate resolution was passed that she was pleased that the “bipartisan agreement prevents the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s proposed rule regarding federal financial assistance from taking effect.
“I advocated for significant changes to the proposed rule in a July 6 letter to the agency, citing its potential to politicize grants and harm small, rural communities, families, and biomedical research,” Collins added.
Her Democratic counterpart and committee deputy, Senator Patty Murray, said that the Bill “blocks implementation of OMB’s corrupt new grants rule for the duration of the [continuing resolution].
“The proposed rule would systematically politicize federal funding and allow Trump officials to cancel grants at any time for any reason. Enabling this rule would only give Trump the greenlight to take even more federal funding hostage.”
Murray added that, while Republicans rejected “killing the proposed rule outright, I’m going to keep fighting to put a stop to it once and for all, and I will keep pressing my Republican colleagues to do exactly that”.
Earlier, the Senate Democratic caucus warned that the proposal “exceeds OMB’s statutory authority, undermines Congress’s constitutional power of the purse, and would allow the President to weaponize federal grants for political purposes”.
Reacting to the news, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) applauded Collins and Murray for the temporary block on the OMB’s ambitions.
“This is an important step toward ensuring that objective merit, not political alignment, remains the primary criterion for grant awards. The OMB rule would undermine Congress’ authority by allowing the termination of federal grants by the political party in charge without cause and without any recourse for grantees,” the organisations noted.
“IDSA and HIVMA call on the House of Representatives to pass the Senate continuing resolution as soon as possible to ensure uninterrupted support for research, public health programs and access to health care, especially in rural communities and among populations vulnerable to communicable diseases.”
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