Trump administration backs away from plan to tighten controls on NIH funding

The White House has backed away from a plan to issue an executive order that would subject billions of dollars in federal health and biomedical research spending to heightened political scrutiny, according to four people familiar with the situation (Source: “White House Backtracks on Plan to Exert New Control Over N.I.H. Grants,” New York Times, Sept. 23).
 
The proposed directive would have established a commission with the power to block government research grants if the money supported work in areas that did not align with President Trump’s political agenda. The plan was discussed in a White House meeting on Friday, and some on Capitol Hill had expected Mr. Trump to issue the order as soon as this week.
 
But fierce opposition from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress forced the White House to recalibrate, according to some of the people familiar with the discussions, who described private conversations to the New York Times on the condition of anonymity. Nevertheless, they said, officials do not appear to have totally abandoned their desire to tighten their grip over federal research spending.