President Trump aims to stop “wasteful grantmaking” by signing an executive order that requires his appointees to review grants to make sure they benefit Americans.
The order signed Thursday directs political appointees and subject matter experts to review each grant to make sure it’s helpful and not just “lining grantees’ pocketbooks or furthering causes that damage America.”
A fact sheet of the order said award decisions will “undergo more rigorous evaluation by political appointees and subject matter experts to ensure they benefit the American public, align with Administration priorities, and are coordinated across agencies to avoid duplication.”
The order aims to cancel future grants that don’t meet proper criteria.
The White House cites examples of federal funds misused, like training doctoral candidates in critical race theory, grants going toward diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and “other anti-American ideologies in the classroom, masked as rigorous and thoughtful investigation.”
It also pointed to “harm imposed by problematic federal grants” like gain-of-function research, which gained criticism with its connection to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In short, there is a strong need to strengthen oversight and coordination of, and to streamline, agency grantmaking to address these problems, prevent them from recurring, and ensure greater accountability for use of public funds more broadly. The Government holds tax revenue in trust for the American people, and agencies should treat it accordingly,” the order said.
The fact sheet of the order says grants must be simplified in plain language and awarded to “a wide array of meritorious grantees, not just the universities and nonprofits that have received awards year after year.”
It added, “Federal grant money should be awarded based on a grantee’s ability to produce results, not based on its ability to hire lawyers and grant-writing experts.”
This order is a continuation of the president’s push to remove wasteful spending from the government and make sure policies align with his agenda.
The Department of Government Efficiency was created to slash federal funding in the government by cutting contracts and grants. Mr. Trump has also signed orders to ensure that nongovernmental organizations advance only U.S. interests and that government funds don’t go toward anything that promotes DEI and other “anti-American” ideology.
The president has clashed with numerous universities, including Harvard and Columbia, for their teaching of DEI and critical race theory and antisemitic treatment of Jewish students.
He signed a memorandum Thursday that orders institutions of higher education to provide admissions data to make sure affirmative action is not taking place.
