What Happened
AP reported Friday that the Trump administration moved to give political appointees more power over the billions of dollars in grants awarded by federal agencies.
The proposal from the Office of Management and Budget is more than 400 pages long, according to AP. It would require senior appointees to review funding for compliance with the law and the president's priorities, and it would give administration officials more freedom to terminate grants that have already been awarded.
OMB said the Biden administration allowed a lack of transparency, accountability and oversight in grantmaking that led to "woke" programs receiving federal funding. AP says the proposal will go through a public comment period before OMB and agencies decide whether to revise it and finalize the rules as soon as this summer.
Why This Matters
Federal grants fund research, public health, disaster work, education, infrastructure and a lot of boring-but-important machinery that keeps the country from becoming a group project run entirely on vibes.
Scientists told AP the proposal could slow scientific progress and medical breakthroughs by putting research funding decisions into the hands of people influenced by politics and not necessarily relevant expertise. The administration says the changes would increase accountability for public money.
The Dumb Part With The Partisan Clipboard
The dumb part is that "accountability" keeps arriving dressed as a partisan clipboard. Grantmaking absolutely should have oversight. Fraud should get hammered. Waste should get caught. But slipping political appointees deeper into the process is not some neutral plumbing repair. It changes who gets to stand near the valve.
If a grant is bad, kill it for being bad. If a grant is illegal, stop it for being illegal. But when the standard becomes whether it fits the president's priorities, every research lab and local program has to wonder whether the science matters less than whether the title makes a political staffer twitch.
The Bottom Line
OMB wants major changes to federal grant oversight, including more review by senior appointees and easier termination of existing awards. The real stupid shit is treating expertise like an optional accessory when billions in public work are already hanging from the ceiling fan.
Sources
AP: White House moves to give political appointees power over grants