Neal Demands Trump Administration Withdraw Dangerous Rule to Politicize Federal Grantmaking

With stunning new executive overreach, the Trump Administration is finding new ways to politicize the cures of tomorrow

WASHINGTON, DC-Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) today sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. demanding they withdraw a proposed regulation that would politicize the federal grantmaking process, undermine independent scientific research, and allow the Administration to sidestep Congress in awarding more than $1 trillion in discretionary federal funding.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance 2026-10817 (91 FR 32198), published in the Federal Register on May 29, 2026, would upend the longstanding federal grantmaking system, putting state and local budgets at risk while jeopardizing the independent research that leads to tomorrow's medical breakthroughs and has long made America the global leader in scientific innovation.

"This NPRM is an affront to scientists, researchers, the Constitution, and the American people," wrote Ranking Member Neal. While offering, "no benefit to advance the national interests of the American people. Rather, it exclusively serves the political interests of a single administration casting around for a novel tool to empower itself to ignore facts, research, and the priorities of the American people… Ultimately, this NPRM represents the next step in the Trump Administration's systematic political effort to eliminate social services that support vulnerable children, families, and older adults."

"The long-term effects on Americans' health, wellbeing, and economy are far too great to move forward with this senseless NPRM," Neal emphasized. "Throughout modern history, every administration-regardless of political party affiliation-has relied on independent research, fact-based information, and unbiased reliable grantmaking as tools of American local economies to prevent waste and target funding to the most effective programs. This NPRM is an illegal overreach of executive authority that will harm our constituents."

In conclusion, Neal demanded the: "immediate [rescission of] this destructive proposal."

READ THE FULL LETTER HERE.

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