The Trump administration is backing away from its original plan for an executive order that would have given a board of political appointees veto power over National Institutes of Health grants, three people familiar with the process told Semafor on Wednesday. Later that day, STAT reported that the planned order appeared dead after bipartisan opposition led by Sen. Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The White House has not formally announced a decision, and the retreat may not be permanent. Semafor reported that the administration could still release an NIH order that takes a different approach, and one person said officials aim to revisit the issue after the November midterm elections. The White House and NIH declined to comment to Semafor.
For patients and families, the stakes run through the research pipeline. NIH grants pay for much of the university and hospital research behind new treatments, diagnostic tests, and clinical trials. Adding a political sign-off to those awards could affect which studies move forward and how quickly they start.
Collins Pressed the White House to Drop the Plan
Collins told Semafor she has been raising concerns about politicizing NIH grants since July and believes she is "making progress." She said White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is "also concerned about what the impact of this would be." Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Collins said grant decisions need to be merit-based and that she was glad the White House listened, The Hill reported.
A third person familiar with the process told Semafor the order had since been pared back after White House officials further discussed and evaluated it. Timing also mattered. According to Semafor, moving ahead with the original order could have jeopardized the next stopgap spending bill, since the current funding law expires December 11.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, Collins urged them not to proceed, warning the plan would undermine the goal of funding research "based on scientific merit and value rather than political ideology." Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the committee's top Democrat, said in a statement earlier in the week that funding decisions should be made by NIH experts, "not a panel of lackeys chosen by Donald Trump and Russ Vought," Chemical & Engineering News reported.
MedicalDaily previously reported on the bipartisan pushback against the reported board when the order was still being drafted. What is new is that the administration appears to have stepped back from that original version while leaving room for a revised one.
The administration's broader goals have not changed. An August 2025 executive order on federal grantmaking says discretionary awards must "demonstrably advance the President's policy priorities." According to Semafor, the Oval Office meeting that sparked the NIH plan centered on giving the White House a role in grant decisions to curtail diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
What the Original Plan Would Have Done and Who It Affects
As reported, the board would have included Vought and Bhattacharya, and Vought would have had a veto over grant decisions. That would have added a political review step after outside scientists score applications for merit. Scientists preparing new applications, and the universities and hospitals that employ them, would feel any change first, since applications often take months to prepare.
Patients should not see immediate changes. Reports so far describe a plan affecting how future awards are approved, and no changes to current grants have been reported. Families with a relative enrolled in an NIH-funded trial can ask the study coordinator whether funding is secure, and should talk with the care team before making any decision based on news reports.
Several questions remain open. It is not known what a revised order would contain, whether it would still give appointees a veto, or what legal authority it would rely on. Congress already used the September stopgap law to temporarily block a similar government-wide OMB effort to add political review of federal grants, and no draft of the NIH order has been made public.
The next signals are likely to come from the budget process. Lawmakers must pass another funding measure by December 11, and Collins has said she will keep fighting any order that politicizes grant decisions. MedicalDaily will track whether the White House issues a revised order before or after the midterms.
Developing Story Timeline
September 23, 2026: Semafor reported the administration was backing off its initial plan and could still release a different NIH order. STAT later reported the planned order appeared dead, and Collins told reporters the White House had listened to concerns.
September 22, 2026: Collins sent a letter to Vought and Bhattacharya urging them not to move forward with a commission of political appointees holding veto power over grant awards.
September 18, 2026: Bhattacharya, Vought, and other administration officials held a lengthy and at times contentious Oval Office discussion about giving the White House a role in NIH grant decisions, as first reported by The Washington Post.
Key Questions Answered
Has the NIH grant executive order been canceled? Not officially. Semafor reported the administration is backing off its original plan, and STAT reported the order appears dead, but the White House has not announced a decision.
What would the original plan have done? News reports said a board of political appointees, including OMB Director Russell Vought and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, would have had veto power over NIH grants after scientific peer review.
Why did the plan stall? Bipartisan opposition led by Sen. Susan Collins, along with concern that the order could complicate passage of the next stopgap spending bill due December 11, appears to have slowed it, according to Semafor.
Could a new version return? Yes. Semafor reported the White House may still issue a different NIH order, and one source said officials hope to revisit the issue after the midterms.
Are current NIH-funded studies or trials affected? No changes to current grants or studies have been reported. The plan described in news reports would have affected how future awards are approved.
Published by Medicaldaily.com
