--- title: "White House drops NIH grant control plan after bipartisan opposition" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/white-house-drops-nih-grant-control-plan-after-bipartisan-opposition" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/white-house-drops-nih-grant-control-plan-after-bipartisan-opposition" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/white-house-drops-nih-grant-control-plan-after-bipartisan-opposition.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/white-house-drops-nih-grant-control-plan-after-bipartisan-opposition" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-09-24T10:25:14.182Z" source_reported: "2026-09-23T23:26:01.000Z" updated: "2026-09-24T10:25:14.182Z" trust_score: 76 critic_score: 75 hype_score: 15 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-09-24T02:13:17.295Z" --- # White House drops NIH grant control plan after bipartisan opposition *A planned executive order would have increased political oversight of research funding.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 76 of 100, higher is better. Named Senator Susan Collins and $48 billion figure give corroborated sources, plus multiple independent outlets. - Craft 75 of 100, higher is better. Facts are specific, figures and dates given, and next steps noted, though no direct quotes appear. - Hype 15 of 100, lower is better. Neutral language and modest headlines keep sensationalism low. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - The White House has dropped plans for an executive order that would have increased political control over NIH research grants. - Bipartisan opposition, including from Senator Susan Collins, led to the plan being abandoned. - The NIH disburses approximately $48 billion annually to research institutions. - No executive order has been issued regarding the NIH grant process. The White House has halted a planned executive order that would have given political appointees greater control over biomedical research grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The initiative faced bipartisan opposition, leading to its discontinuation. No executive order has been issued. ## Disagreement on the plan's details Roll Call reported that the executive order would have given the Trump administration more control over grantmaking at the NIH. Semafor suggested the proposal would have given President Donald Trump greater influence over health grant decisionmaking, adding that the plan could still advance in a new form. Allergy & Asthma Network reported that the White House intended to establish an outside panel to review research grants prior to approval. ## What the coverage left out None of the left- or centre-rated reports mentioned the National Institutes of Health disburses about $48 billion annually to research labs and academic investigators, a fact reported by BizToc. ## Who covered it Shares of the 7 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 43% (3) - Centre: 57% (4) - Right: 0% (0) 2 of 9 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-09-24T02:13:17.295Z. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 8 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-09-24T12:45:46.378Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - Reports from the left focused on the White House backing down from its plan. Politico stated the White House halted a planned executive order that would have put control over NIH research grants in the hands of political appointees. Semafor reported the Trump administration was backing off the NIH grant order amid pushback, noting the proposal could still advance in a new form. Bloomberg Government, via bgov.com, reported the White House was dropping plans to give its budget office more oversight of scientific research grants, citing Republican Senator Susan Collins. ### Centre - Centrist reports highlighted the bipartisan opposition that led to the plan's demise. STAT reported the White House plan to control NIH biomedical research grants appeared dead after bipartisan opposition led by Senator Susan Collins. The Hill stated the White House backed down on a plan to grant its office control over NIH scientific awards following pressure, according to Senator Susan Collins. Roll Call reported the White House was scrapping plans for an executive order that would have given the Trump administration more control over grantmaking at the National Institutes of Health. Medical Daily reported that senators from both parties opposed a reported plan for political appointees to approve NIH grants, noting no order had been issued. ### Right No separate framing summary. **Provisional coverage gap:** right. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - high: 4 - unknown: 2 - veryHigh: 3 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [STAT](https://statnews.com/2026/09/23/nih-grants-political-control-executive-order-bipartisan-pushback) — White House plan to increase control of NIH grants appears 'dead' - [BizToc](https://biztoc.com/x/60f4ba504c6ba1cc) — White House Backtracks on Plan to Exert New Control Over N.I.H. Grants - [The Hill](https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6107141-white-house-drops-nih-grant-proposal-collins) — Collins: White House backing down from NIH grant order - [bgov.com](https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/white-house-dropping-nih-grant-oversight-plan-after-pushback) — White House Dropping NIH Grant Oversight Plan After Pushback (1) - [Roll Call](https://rollcall.com/2026/09/23/white-house-drops-executive-order-for-tighter-nih-purview) — White House drops executive order for tighter NIH purview - [allergyasthmanetwork.org](https://allergyasthmanetwork.org/press-page/statement-on-nih-funding-executive-order) — Statement on NIH Funding - [Medical Daily](https://medicaldaily.com/nih-grants-political-appointees-board-bipartisan-pushback-479010) — Senators from Both Parties Push Back on Reported Plan for Political Appointees to Approve NIH Grants - [Semafor](https://semafor.com/article/09/23/2026/trump-administration-backing-off-nih-grant-order-amid-pushback) — Exclusive: Trump administration backing off NIH grant order amid pushback - [Politico](https://politico.com/news/2026/09/23/collins-white-house-drops-effort-to-politicize-health-research-grants-01090266) — Collins: White House drops effort to politicize health research grants ## Questions **What was the White House planning to do with NIH grants?** The White House had planned an executive order that would have increased political control over the National Institutes of Health's biomedical research grants. This would have involved giving political appointees more say in the approval process for these research funds. **Why did the White House drop the plan?** The plan was dropped due to bipartisan opposition from senators. Senator Susan Collins was identified as leading this opposition, which pressured the White House to abandon the executive order. **How much money does the NIH distribute annually?** The National Institutes of Health disburses approximately $48 billion each year. This funding goes to research labs and academic investigators for various health-related studies. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/white-house-drops-nih-grant-control-plan-after-bipartisan-opposition. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "White House drops NIH grant control plan after bipartisan opposition", https://mediabias.news/politics/white-house-drops-nih-grant-control-plan-after-bipartisan-opposition