Trump Executive Order Places Federal Grants Under Political Appointee Control

President Trump signed Executive Order 14332 titled ‘Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking,’ transforming the federal grantmaking process by giving presidential political appointees unprecedented power over billions of dollars in research and discretionary grants. The order requires each agency head to designate a senior appointee to review all funding opportunity announcements and discretionary grants to ensure they align with ‘agency priorities and the national interest’—effectively meaning Trump’s policy agenda.

The executive order mandates that all discretionary federal grants include ’termination for convenience’ clauses, allowing agencies to end grants at any time if projects are determined to no longer advance agency priorities or the national interest. This provision threatens the independence of scientific research, nonprofit programs, and academic institutions by making continued funding contingent on political approval rather than merit or programmatic success.

This systematic politicization of federal grantmaking represents a fundamental shift from merit-based, peer-reviewed scientific and programmatic funding to political control. By requiring appointees to apply ‘independent judgment’ to ‘advance the President’s policy priorities,’ the order transforms federal grants from tools of expertise-driven policy into instruments of political patronage, threatening research independence and institutional autonomy across government.