Overview
- The Office of Management and Budget published a roughly 412‑page draft of the federal grant rule in the Federal Register on May 28–29 that is now open for 45 days of public comment with a July 13 deadline.
- The proposal requires designated senior political appointees to perform pre‑issuance review and give final sign‑off on discretionary awards, including scientific research grants, and expands agency authority to suspend or terminate existing awards.
- The draft inserts explicit ideological and operational conditions into grant eligibility, banning many DEI, gender‑related and certain climate initiatives while imposing English‑language rules and mandatory use of DHS’s E‑Verify for recipients.
- It strengthens enforcement by ordering rapid fraud referrals to inspectors general and the D.C. U.S. attorney within 10 days, increasing performance monitoring such as use of the Treasury’s Do Not Pay registry, and broadening suspension powers.
- Research groups, universities and scientists warn the rule would undermine merit‑based peer review and slow or politicize funding decisions, while OMB says the changes will align awards with law, executive orders and presidential priorities and could prompt litigation and sustained policy fights.