White House drafting order to give Russell Vought veto power over all NIH grants

The Trump administration is drafting an executive order that would create a commission of political appointees to review every grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health, giving OMB Director Russell Vought veto authority over the agency's $47 billion research portfolio.

The Washington Post first reported on a contentious White House meeting Friday in which NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya tried to fend off the plan. The New York Times and Politico confirmed the account. According to Politico, Trump — reportedly angry that Bhattacharya had refused to cut funding for Harvard researchers — directed Vought to draft the order. Vought and Bhattacharya would both sit on the proposed board, which would be required to reach unanimous decisions on grants.

Several members of Congress have pushed back against the plan, STAT News reported, though the article did not specify which members or what steps they might take.

The NIH is the largest funder of biomedical research in the world, distributing grants to academic researchers for everything from basic biology to clinical trials.