1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), led by Project 2025 architect (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c977njnvq2do) Russell Vought, has proposed sweeping rule changes to the federal grantmaking process. Vought and the Trump administration are attacking the integrity of scientific research under the guise of aligning research priorities to the “national interest” (https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/05/the-office-of-management-and-budget-tries-again-to-cripple-us-science/). The current practice for evaluating scientific grants involves a rigorous “peer review” process where scientific experts score grants for quality. Peer review is considered the gold standard for the evaluation of scientific work, and has been in practice since 1665 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-023-01661-7). Under OMB’s proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule (OMB-2026-0034) (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance), political appointees will now become the decision-makers in the grant approval process. Additionally, there would be unwarranted and intentionally restrictive rules put in place that bans grants on certain topics, such as DEI and “gender ideology,” and allows for the arbitrary cancellation of grants “inconsistent with program goals or agency priorities.” It would also block spending on publications and limit research conference attendance, which would severely restrict scientific communication and collaborations. Collectively, these restrictions will further decimate the American scientific research community, with the negative impact to be felt for decades. I demand that you block this blatantly political change to the federal grant making process. Thank you.