The Trump administration is moving to place control of major national health research funding under the authority of political appointees, drawing sharp bipartisan criticism.
President Trump directed budget director Russ Vought to draft an executive order that would create a board responsible for deciding which NIH grants receive federal funding.
Two administration officials familiar with the meeting confirmed the directive, marking one of the most aggressive moves yet to reshape how federal research dollars are allocated.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, delivered a forceful rebuke of the administration’s approach to NIH funding and oversight.
Collins warned that the administration’s actions threaten the United States’ standing as a global leader in biomedical research and innovation.
“These actions put our leadership in biomedical innovation at real risk and must be reversed,” Collins said, leaving no ambiguity about her position on the proposed changes.
Collins also argued that the administration should take a more measured and targeted approach when restructuring how the NIH handles grant funding.
Collins said the administration needs a “surgical approach, not a sledgehammer” when it comes to the NIH, language that signals deep frustration with the pace and bluntness of current policy.
Beyond the proposed executive order, Collins suggested the administration has already broken the law through several unilateral funding actions at the NIH.
Among those disputed actions is the administration’s decision to impose a 15% cap on administrative and facility costs associated with federally funded research grants.
The proposed executive order is also reported to be partly aimed at giving the administration another lever to cut funding directed toward Harvard University.
Harvard has been locked in a lengthy legal battle with the administration over the fate of its federal research funding, making it a central flashpoint in the broader fight over NIH policy.
Critics argue that placing grant decisions in the hands of political appointees fundamentally undermines the peer-review process that has long governed how scientific research is funded.
The NIH distributes tens of billions of dollars annually to universities, hospitals, and research institutions across the country, making the stakes of this dispute exceptionally high.
Collins’ willingness to break with her own party on this issue underscores how deeply the administration’s moves have unsettled even Republican allies on Capitol Hill.
