The White House has dropped plans for an executive order that would have given political appointees more control over National Institutes of Health grants, according to Roll Call and other outlets citing people familiar with the decision. The New York Times reported that the proposed order would have created a commission with the power to block research grants that did not align with President Trump's political agenda. The White House has not issued a public statement, so the reversal rests on sourced reporting rather than an official announcement.
For patients and researchers, the reversal removes an immediate threat to how medical research money is awarded, but not every uncertainty. A separate grant rule proposed by the White House budget office remains pending, and it is unclear whether a different version of the order could return.
