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White House Announces More Than $6 Billion in New Science Initiatives
The Trump Administration announced more than $6 billion in science investments at a Science: A New Golden Age Summit in Washington, D.C., on October 8. The initiatives are consistent with previously stated administration priorities and build off the report of the same name released by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in July. According to the White House:
Significant Amounts of Research Funding Withheld, Some Illegally, as Fiscal Year Ends
Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 officially ended October 1, despite unfinished work by Congress on FY 2027 spending. As previously reported, Members of Congress left Washington a few weeks ago to spend extra time on the campaign trail ahead of the November midterm elections. Before leaving, they enacted a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through December 11. Now that FY 2026 is in the books, reports are uncovering the extent to which research funding has been reduced, redirected, or eliminated across the government. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has reportedly withheld $1.4 billion, or nearly 20 percent, of…
NIH Announces Record Number of Grants for Early-Career Investigators
On October 8, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced it supported a record 1,648 early-stage investigators through R01-equivalent extramural research grants in fiscal year (FY) 2026. This represents a 25% increase over the ten-year average of 1,323 awards. The NIH also launched Generation Discovery, a new initiative to recruit 100 early-career principal investigators into its Intramural Research Program over the next three years. The agency highlighted these efforts at the White House Science: A New Golden Age Summit as part of a broader strategy to strengthen American biomedical research. Additional initiatives include expanding Investigator-Focused Awards, which offer researchers greater…
Trump Administration Rescinds $810 Million in Appropriated Funds, Lawsuits Pending
The President issued a so-called pocket rescission on September 25 canceling $810 million in already appropriated funding for fiscal year (FY) 2026, citing “wasteful and harmful government spending that does not benefit American citizens.” Within the rescission are cuts for immigration services and several health and education programs, such as the Department of Education’s International Education and Foreign Language programs. Also included are rescissions to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health, climate change initiatives, and programs dealing with transgender/gender identity and racism within the healthcare system. The legality of the move is in question….
Education Department Latest Agency to Propose Changes to Grant Rules
The U.S. Department of Education has proposed significant changes to its grant regulations that could affect colleges and universities, state education agencies, school districts, and other federal grantees. The proposed rule, published August 24, 2026, is open for public comment through September 23, 2026. The proposal incorporates several concepts from the White House Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) proposed revisions to the Uniform Guidance (see COSSA’s coverage). Those broader changes have been delayed amid congressional action (see related story), but the Education Department’s proposal signals that federal agencies appear to be moving forward with similar reforms absent a finalized OMB rule. The National Science Foundation (NSF)…
White House Issues ‘Golden Age of Science’ Report and 2028 Research Priorities
Earlier this month, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) release a report, Science: A New Golden Age. The report calls for a shift in the way research is funded in the U.S. and centers on Trump Administration priorities in emerging areas like AI. OSTP Director Michael Kratsios discussed the report before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee last week (see related article). The report outlines several recommendations, including expanding opportunities for startups, independent research organizations, nonprofits, and industry partners. To encourage more innovative research, the report argues that traditional peer-review systems often favor consensus over high-risk, high-reward ideas. Among…
Scientific Community Responds in Force to OMB Proposed Rule
More than 340,000 public comments have been submitted in response to the proposed rule, Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance, that seeks to make major changes to the Uniform Guidance governing federal financial assistance, including federal research grants. The deadline for comments was July 13. Organizations and individuals used their comments to register deep concerns about the proposed changes and their potential impacts on the U.S. research enterprise and our diminishing global competitiveness. COSSA’s comments, which have not yet been posted officially to regulations.gov, is available here. According to the proposed rule, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) set an implementation date of…
Resources for Commenting on OMB Proposed Rule
As previously reported, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a proposed rule in late May that would make major changes to the Uniform Guidance governing federal financial assistance, including federal research grants. The rule seeks to implement proposals made by the Trump Administration through various executive orders and other actions taken since January 2025, many of great concern to the research community. Public comments are being accepted through July 13. COSSA is holding a members-only webinar on July 1 at 2:00 pm ET to provide guidance to members planning to comment. As of this writing, more than 70,000 public comments have been submitted. Many scientific…
NSF Seeks Comment on Grant Policy Revisions, Due Aug. 24
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeking public comment on proposed revisions to its grant policies. The changes are intended to bring NSF’s policy in line with the White House Office of Management and Budget’s sweeping proposed revisions to federal grant regulations released in late May (see related article). The draft would revise grant termination provisions, prohibit charging publication costs to awards, and eliminate references to fixed-price awards. It also clarifies that recovery of indirect costs on NSF awards is subject to the availability of funds, meaning organizations may not be able to recover their full negotiated indirect cost rates if award…
More than 8,000 Federal Employees Reclassified
As previously reported, the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) finalized a rule in February that expands the use of the excepted service by creating “Schedule Policy/Career,” a new category covering career employees in policy-influencing roles (see previous coverage). While OPM frames the change as a way to improve accountability and responsiveness, critics warn it weakens long-standing civil service protections. On June 3, President Trump signed an executive order officially reclassifying roughly 8,000 federal employees, making it easier for agencies to fire workers in policy-influencing roles. The Administration says the change will improve accountability while preserving merit-based hiring and whistleblower protections. Critics, including labor…
Research Community Organizing Around OMB Proposed Rule
As previously reported, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a proposed rule in late May that would make major changes to the Uniform Guidance governing federal financial assistance, including federal research grants. The rule seeks to implement proposals made by the Trump Administration through various executive orders and other actions taken since January 2025. Public comments will be accepted through July 13; public requests that the 45-day comment period be extended have been denied by OMB. As the research community prepares to respond, scientific and higher education groups are providing guidance to help make sense of the more than 400-page proposed…
White House Proposes Sweeping Changes to Federal Grant Rules – Comments Due July 13
At the end of May, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a proposed rule, Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance, that would make major changes to the Uniform Guidance governing federal financial assistance, including federal research grants. The rule would implement proposals made by the Trump Administration through various executive orders over the last year, including the Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking order and Restoring Gold Standard Science order, among others. Among the changes are, but not limited to: Proposed changes to the Uniform Guidance have been anticipated for several months. Still the sweeping nature of the changes, if implemented, would fundamentally alter the…
US Science Funding Delayed Despite Congress Rejecting Cuts
According to reporting by Nature, federal science agencies continue to experience delays in receiving the okay to start spending their fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations from Congress. As previously reported, Congress completed its work on FY 2026 appropriations for most federal science agencies earlier this year. However, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been slow to approve agency spending plans, which are required to be delivered to OMB within 30 days of enactment of the appropriations bills. Traditionally, agencies had authority to start spending portions of their appropriations immediately and continuing in monthly increments until its spending plan…
Science Agency Leadership Shakeups Continue
The White House recently announced plans to nominate Jim O’Neill as the next Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), placing a longtime health policy official and private-sector investor at the helm of the nation’s premier basic science funding agency. O’Neill most recently served as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (see previous coverage). Earlier in his career, O’Neill worked at the Department of Health and Human Services during the administration of George W. Bush. He later moved into the private sector, investing in emerging technologies, including through the Thiel Foundation’s Breakout Labs program, which supports…
OPM Final Rule Expands Excepted Service, Raises Workforce Concerns
The White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has finalized a sweeping rule that expands the use of the excepted service by creating “Schedule Policy/Career,” a new category covering career employees in policy-influencing roles (see previous coverage). While OPM frames the change as a way to improve accountability and responsiveness, critics warn it weakens long-standing civil service protections. Under the rule, career employees (e.g., nonpolitical appointees) whose roles are of a “confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character” may be reclassified into Schedule Policy/Career. They will retain competitive status but lose key procedural protections, including appeal rights for adverse actions and performance-based removals. OPM…
Trump Administration launches AI-focused ‘Genesis Mission’
On November 24, the White House issued an executive order (EO), Launching the Genesis Mission. It is the latest action by the Trump Administration seeking to establish American leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). Genesis Mission, according to the EO, will “unleash a new age of AI-accelerated innovation and discovery” by “[building] an integrated AI platform to harness Federal scientific datasets—the world’s largest collection of such datasets, developed over decades of Federal investments—to train scientific foundation models and create AI agents to test new hypotheses, automate research workflows, and accelerate scientific breakthroughs.” The Department of Energy (DOE) is tasked with implementing the mission with…
Latest from the White House (October 28)
Universities Reject Trump’s Higher Education Compact As previously reported, nine of the nation’s leading research universities received letters from the White House earlier this month urging that they agree to the Administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. The Compact lays out several conditions that align with the President’s agenda and ideology. In exchange, universities that sign on would perceive preferential treatment for federal funding, including research grants. The original nine universities were given until October 20 to respond with feedback. Since then, MIT was the first university to officially reject the offer, stating “In our view, America’s leadership in science and innovation…
Latest from the White House (October 14)
9 Universities Asked to Sign White House Compact in Exchange for Funding Earlier this month, nine of the nation’s leading research universities received letters from the White House urging that they agree to Trump Administration priorities in exchange for federal funding. The Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education lays out several conditions, such as freezing tuition rates for five years, capping international student enrollment, agreeing to the Administration’s definitions of gender, and “transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spart violence against conservative ideas.” In return, institutions that sign the compact will be guaranteed: “(i) access to…
White House SBS Team Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
On September 15, the White House’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST) celebrated its one-year anniversary. SBST, a group of behavioral scientists within the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), is chaired by the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). It also includes the participation of federal agencies, departments, and White House offices. The 2016 Social and Behavioral Sciences Team Annual Report cites the progress made by the team in implementing President Obama’s Executive Order 13707, “Using Behavioral Science Insights to Better Serve the American People” (see Update, September 22, 2015). The 2016 report…
Impact Report Highlights Obama Administration’s Science Initiatives
On June 21, the White House released 100 Examples of President Obama’s Leadership in Science, Technology, and Innovation. Among the initiatives and policies listed are efforts to increase scientific transparency at federal science agencies, the formation of science-related councils and groups at the White House, and the creation of multiple science and research-related tax credits. Many of the initiatives promoted the social and behavioral sciences, including creating the Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST) at the White House, publishing thousands of federal datasets on data.gov, and implementing a multi-agency plan to harness big data. Back to this issue’s table of contents.