Cancel culture for cancer research: Proposed rule politicizes federal grantmaking

Last week, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought testified before the House Appropriations Committee for the first time this year.

It was his first appearance before Congress since the office he oversees issued a 412-page proposed federal regulation that would replace the current merit-based, apolitical, expert-driven process for awarding federal grants with a partisan political one controlled by the White House.

Rather than making decisions based on the existing peer-review system, where scientists shielded from politics evaluate the merit of projects according to empirical evidence, funding determinations will be made based on whether or not a recipient promotes “anti-American values,” or “damage[s] the reputation” of the federal government.

Recipients cannot “deny the biological reality of sex or the sex binary in humans,” nor can they promote “theories of disparate impact liability.” And they must “demonstrably advance the president’s policy priorities,” in order to be eligible for federal grant funding.

This is a seismic shift in how federal grantmaking works. What advances the president’s policy priorities, damages the reputation of the government, or promotes anti-American values is subjective. You cannot apply a rigorous standard to what embarrasses the president or not. This change would allow political appointees in the Trump administration to deny or terminate virtually any grant at any time for any reason —or no reason at........

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