1. United States
2. N.J.
3. Letter

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), led by Project 2025 architect 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”. The current practice for evaluating scientific grants involves a rigorous “peer review” process in which scientific experts assess grant quality. Peer review is considered the gold standard for evaluating scientific work and has been practiced since 1665. Under OMB’s proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule (OMB-2026-0034), political appointees will now become the decision-makers in the grant approval process. Additionally, unwarranted and intentionally restrictive rules would be put in place that ban grants on certain topics, such as DEI and “gender ideology,” and allow for the arbitrary cancellation of grants deemed “inconsistent with program goals or agency priorities.” It would also block funding for publications and limit research conference attendance, severely restricting scientific communication and collaboration. Collectively, these restrictions will further decimate the American scientific research community, with the negative impact to be felt for decades.