The Office of Management and Budget unveiled rules that shift grant approval from peer reviewers to political appointees, citing a vague national interest standard.

These changes allow any federal agency to terminate a grant at any moment and forbid funding on topics labeled woke or gender ideology, while also tightening international collaboration, especially with China.

The draft overturns a long‑standing system that made the U.S. a scientific leader, replacing expert judgment with partisan oversight and risking loss of funding for basic research, publishing, and conferences.

Ultimately, the new framework signals a decisive retreat from evidence‑based science funding and could stall innovation across academia and industry.