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.
