Trump to establish board controlling NIH grant funding to block 'woke' initiatives

President Donald Trump is planning an executive order to establish an external board, including budget director Russell Vought and NIH director Jay Bhattacharya, to control and veto National Institutes of Health grants. The move aims to block 'woke' initiatives, bypassing traditional scientific peer-review processes. While Vought pushes for political control, Bhattacharya has defended the NIH's independence. Meanwhile, researchers have launched a class-action lawsuit accusing the administration of First Amendment violations.

NIH grant oversight board proposal

• ▪Donald Trump is expected to issue an executive order establishing an external board responsible for approving and potentially vetoing National Institutes of Health grant funding.
• ▪The National Institutes of Health grant oversight board proposed by President Donald Trump would be required to reach unanimous decisions on grant awards
• ▪The National Institutes of Health grant oversight board proposed in President Donald Trump's planned executive order, reported by Politico and The Washington Post over the September 20-21 weekend, would include White House budget director Russell Vought and National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya

Political control over scientific research

• ▪The Office of Management and Budget proposed a governmentwide rule in May 2026 to give political appointees the power to block federal grants inconsistent with administration policy.
• ▪Research!America president Russ Paulsen stated on September 20, 2026, that adding more bureaucrats to the National Institutes of Health grant process would slow medical progress to a grinding halt
• ▪White House budget director Russell Vought and other senior administration officials accused the National Institutes of Health of funding 'woke' initiatives that conflict with Donald Trump's political priorities.
• ▪The National Institutes of Health grant oversight board proposed in President Donald Trump's planned executive order, reported by Politico and The Washington Post over the September 20-21 weekend, would break with the National Institutes of Health's traditional process of evaluating research proposals based on scientific merit through peer-review panels and advisory councils

NIH director resistance to reforms

• ▪National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya clashed with White House budget director Russell Vought, who expressed a desire to reshape federal spending and grant authority.
• ▪National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya defended the agency's grant-making process and resisted cuts to federal research spending during a White House meeting on September 18, 2026.

First Amendment lawsuit by researchers

• ▪American researchers filed a class-action lawsuit in September 2026 accusing the Trump administration of violating the First Amendment by blocking and terminating scientific grants to censor opposing views.
• ▪University of Pittsburgh psychiatry professor Ann Cohen joined the class-action lawsuit filed against the National Institutes of Health in September 2026 accusing the Trump administration of First Amendment violations, after her National Institutes of Health funding for an Alzheimer's disease study in high-risk communities was cut

Federal research funding cuts

• ▪The Trump administration has cut or frozen billions of dollars in federal grants related to health, nutrition, the environment, and disaster relief since taking office in early 2025.
• ▪Since Donald Trump returned to office in early 2025, the Trump administration has flagged research proposals containing keywords such as 'equity', 'racist', 'gender', and 'climate change' to hinder their funding

Debatable claims

• ▪The Trump administration should establish an external board to approve NIH grants
• ▪The Trump administration's restriction of research grants based on keywords is unconstitutional