After news leaked about a plan to create a panel of political appointees to sign off on all NIH grants, several members of Congress voiced strong opposition against increased White House control of federal biomedical research funding.
House Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) called the White House Office of Management and Budget "an out-of-control agency that not only needs additional oversight but should also have its authorities removed or constrained," and called the proposal in question "extraordinarily dangerous." Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) wrote in a statement, "I’m going to fight this corrupt heist every step of the way."
Read more about the contentious NIH grant funding plan here.