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Category: Federal Agency Developments

UW Submits Comment Opposing Proposed Changes to Uniform Guidance

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The comment period for OMB’s proposed changes to the Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance (known as Uniform Guidance) closed last night at 11:59pm Eastern. The University of Washington has submitted a formal letter expressing concerns related to OMB’s proposed changes, based on feedback received from the UW community.

In summary,

“The proposed changes in the Uniform Guidance, shifting it to a set of uniform grant regulations, would undermine what is a revered pillar of American greatness; our scientific enterprise. Our nation has benefited enormously from a research funding system grounded in scientific excellence, peer review, and long-term investment. It has allowed us to be the world’s economic driver for generations. Our nation should invest in science, including a funding framework that promotes scientific independence from political interference, stability, and evidence-based decision making, to preserve our dominance. These changes will only undermine our leadership. The University of Washington urges OMB to withdraw the proposed rule entitled “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance” in its entirety.”

The full UW comment letter is available here.

The proposed effective date for the new guidance is October 1, 2026. When the comment period closed last night, OMB had received 496,769 comments, which are public record and will continue to be published here.

Additional comment letters:

In addition, this tracker from APLU contains up-to-date information of letters sent by Members of Congress regarding Uniform Guidance.

White House Proposes New Rules on Research Grant Approvals

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The White House released draft regulations yesterday that aim to centralize Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control over the release of government funds, including scientific research grants.

If enacted, the proposal would dramatically change the peer review process, giving senior political appointees final say over approvals.

Section 200.205 states that “consistent with the Executive order, senior appointees must conduct these reviews and apply specific principles when evaluating proposals. These principles include ensuring that discretionary awards advance the President’s policy priorities, prohibit the use of funds for discriminatory or otherwise impermissible purposes, and emphasize ensuring compliance with applicable law.” This section refers to President Trump’s August 7 Executive Order regarding oversight of federal grantmaking.

The proposal states that the scientific peer review of research proposals “remains advisory and does not replace agency discretion.”

The proposed OMB rule would not affect the indirect costs rate, which the administration had previously tried to cap at 15% last year.

Trump signs SBIR/STTR reauthorization bill into law

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Yesterday, President Trump signed S. 3971, the “Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act.” This legislation reauthorizes the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs through 2031. Since 1982, the SBIR and STTR programs, known together as America’s Seed Fund, have invested more than $81 billion into over 34,000 small businesses. Authorization had lapsed as of September 30, freezing billions of dollars in funding across multiple agencies, as Congress debated new program reforms. This five-year extension is the longest extension in the program’s history. The legislation reforms include significant security screening expansion, proposal submission caps, and a “strategic breakthrough” award mechanism allowing for larger award amounts.

Trump delays naming new CDC Director

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The White House remains on a time crunch to name a permanent director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Under federal law, Senate-confirmed positions have a 210-day limit on being led by acting replacements, a deadline which passed last night. The Health Department announced yesterday that Dr. Jay Bhattacharya will continue to oversee the CDC until the agency has a permanent director, adding that Health Secretary RFK Jr. and Chris Klomp are leading the search.

President Trump has not yet announced his pick, as the administration struggles to find a nominee that aligns with Secretary Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, while avoiding enough of his vaccine stances to be able to win Senate confirmation.

The administration’s health agenda received a major blow last week when a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked several of Kennedy’s vaccine policies from being implemented. Ruling on a lawsuit brought by six prominent medical organizations, Judge Brian Murphy said that the federal government had not based its decisions on science in limiting Covid shots and revising the childhood vaccine schedule. The ruling also reversed all decisions made by panelists that Kennedy had appointed to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices. An appeal is expected, but lawyers for the plaintiffs celebrated this as “a significant victory for public health, evidence-based medicine, the rule of law, and the American people.”

Jim O’Neill nominated as NSF director

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President Trump has nominated Jim O’Neill to serve as Director of the National Science Foundation. His name was among a list of nominations sent to the Senate yesterday morning. O’Neill was removed from his position as deputy secretary of HHS last month as part of a broader restructuring, which also saw Jay Bhattacharya named acting CDC director. The NSF has been without a permanent leader since last April, when director Sethuraman Panchanathan resigned as the Trump administration cut hundreds of research grants and proposed massive budget cuts.

O’Neill served as a senior HHS official during the George W. Bush administration, before moving to the private sector, where he worked closer with Peter Thiel. He was the managing director at Thiel’s Mithril Capital Management and also served as CEO of the Thiel Foundation, before joining the second Trump administration as deputy HHS secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, O’Neill would be the first non-scientist to lead the NSF.