President Trump directed budget chief Russell Vought to draft an executive order giving an outside board authority to review and reject grants from the National Institutes of Health. The proposed panel would oversee $48 billion in biomedical research funding and require unanimous decisions on grant awards. Members of the board would include Vought, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, and other political appointees.

The initiative follows a dispute between Vought and Bhattacharya over the level of political oversight for scientific research. The move came after Bhattacharya refused a presidential request to reduce funding for Harvard University during an Oval Office meeting last Friday. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson stated that NIH grant monies will be disbursed and the agency remains committed to the mission.