The proposed board, according to a Politico report citing two administration officials, would be composed of NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and OMB Director Russ Vought, and would be required to reach unanimous decisions on every grant award.
If enacted, the arrangement would give Vought a direct role in allocating the congressionally appropriated money that funds the NIH, effectively shifting grant‑making authority from the agency’s scientific leadership to the White House’s budget office.
The White House Office of Management and Budget, the White House itself, and the Department of Health and Human Services – which oversees the NIH – did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.
The move comes amid mounting criticism of the administration’s research‑funding cuts announced last year, which targeted federal spending at major universities and resulted in the freezing or cancellation of numerous grants.
The Trump administration has defended the cuts, arguing they are necessary to ensure that federal dollars support only "solid science" and to reverse what it calls years of misguided research priorities.
Should the executive order be finalized, the board’s unanimous‑vote requirement could dramatically slow the grant‑approval process and give the White House unprecedented influence over the nation’s health‑research agenda.