Trump is driving another nail into the coffin of US science
Under proposed reforms, political appointees will review grants to ensure they “advance the President’s priorities”.
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Demonstrators rallying during a “Kill the Cuts” protest against the Trump administration’s funding cuts in April 2025.
PHOTO : AFP
Anjana Ahuja
At some point, the last nail will be hammered into the coffin and the lid firmly shut. For US science, that final nail might well be the bland-sounding Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance.
If the draft rule, proposed by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), comes into force in October as planned, political appointees at federal agencies will have the power to review research grants to ensure they “demonstrably advance the President’s priorities” and to abruptly terminate those, even ongoing clinical trials, perceived as out of line.
