By Onyx Bugett | TalkLife News
Published September 20, 2026 | Reported policy proposal
President Donald Trump has reportedly instructed budget director Russ Vought to prepare an executive order creating a board with final authority over grants issued through the National Institutes of Health.
Reuters relayed the report from Politico, which said the proposed board would include Vought and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and would require unanimous approval before grants receive funding.
The White House, Office of Management and Budget and Department of Health and Human Services had not publicly confirmed the reported instructions when the initial report was published.
Why NIH funding matters
The NIH supports research involving cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, infectious illness, mental health and numerous other conditions. Its grants fund work at universities, hospitals and independent research institutions across the country.
Scientific proposals currently undergo technical and peer review. Adding final political approval could significantly change how funding decisions are made and which research subjects receive support.
The administration’s argument
Administration officials have previously said tighter oversight is necessary to eliminate unreliable science and redirect money from research priorities they consider wasteful or politically driven.
Researchers and university leaders have warned that political control could favor ideology over scientific merit, delay experiments and make long-term medical research more difficult to plan.
Reported plan is not an active order
Senior officials have discussed additional grant review, but no signed executive order or functioning board has been publicly released. The proposal could change before becoming official.
Existing NIH funding should not be described as universally canceled based on this report.
Source: Reuters, September 20, 2026.
Featured image: National Cancer Institute via Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License.