Vought pushes for scrutiny of NIH grants in Oval Office clash
Russell Vought argued the agency should face tighter oversight as NIH defended its $47 billion budget and said its funding is safe.
- On Friday, White House budget director Russell Vought clashed with National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya in the Oval Office over the roughly $47 billion agency's spending priorities, with President Donald Trump appearing receptive to Vought's criticisms.
- Vought accused the NIH of bankrolling "woke" initiatives that clash with a Trump executive order barring "equity-related" grants, and administration officials discussed a potential commission to review the agency's grant-making process.
- The NIH slashed hundreds of millions of dollars last year for research tied to minority, gay, and transgender communities while issuing fewer grants for women's health; Vought has previously told CBS News the agency "needs dramatic overhaul."
- An NIH spokesperson declined to discuss the meeting but stated there would be no "rescissions" of existing grant funds, affirming that all current grant monies will be spent.
- Bipartisan majorities of voters oppose cutting health research, and Republican lawmakers have resisted deeper reductions; a budget office rule handing political appointees more power over federal grants remains blocked by a funding measure until December.
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NIH Director Bhattacharya Refuses Trump Demand to Cut Harvard Funding, Politico Reports
National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, a former Stanford University colleague of Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76, refused a directive from U.S. President Donald Trump to cut Harvard’s federal research grants during a heated Friday Oval Office meeting, Politico reported Saturday night.
Oval Office erupts as budget hawk tempts Trump to turn on key ally: report
White House officials clashed in the Oval Office over whether President Donald Trump should take a larger knife to the country's largest medical research agency.According to reporting by The Washington Post, the dispute pitted White House budget director Russell Vought against Jay Bhattacharya, who leads the National Institutes of Health. Three people familiar with the feud told The Post that Vought accused the NIH of bankrolling "woke" initiati…
Vought pushes for scrutiny of NIH grants and budget in Oval Office clash
A heated debate took place in the Oval Office on Friday, with some Trump officials accusing the National Institutes of Health of funding grants that conflict with the president’s agenda.
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