On August 7, the President signed an executive order on Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking. This new standard of review is likely to further delay grant awards and appears intended to skew awards away from the usual recipients, particularly the higher education research institutions that the Administration has been assailing. It also reinforces ongoing efforts to prevent federal grants from supporting DEI, gender ideology or anything else not aligned with the Administration’s views. This does not have any implications for Title II but will impact all future USDE research grants.

Citing instances of grants supporting controversial issues and “absurd ideologies” and lack of efficacy, this order requires each agency to establish a new process for grant reviews. The executive order sets out another of key elements that each agency should incorporate in their new review process:

  • All grant funding announcements must be reviewed and approved by senior appointees (essentially political appointees or the most senior members of the civil service) or their designees.
  • Coordination with OMB will continue.
  • Reviews by designated subject-matter experts relevant to individual grants.
  • Interagency coordination of grants to ensure no redundancy.
  • “Pre-issuance review of discretionary awards to ensure that the awards are consistent with applicable law, agency priorities, and the national interest, which shall involve in-person or virtual discussion of applications by grant review panels or program offices with a senior appointee or that appointee’s designee.”

The executive order also requires annual reviews for “consistency with agency priorities and substantial progress.” It also states that agencies cannot issue new funding opportunity announcements until the new review system is in place.

The executive order also sets out a host of considerations for reviewers, including whether the awards:

  • “Demonstrably advance the President’s priorities.”
  • “Promote, encourage, subsidize, or facilitate” racial preferences or discrimination, gender ideology, illegal immigration, or “any other initiatives that compromise public safety or promote anti-American values.”

The executive order also requires reviewers to ensure awards go “to a broad range of recipients rather than to a select group of repeat players.” Related to the efficacy issue, the EO states that: “Research grants should be awarded to a mix of recipients likely to produce immediately demonstrable results and recipients with the potential for potentially longer-term, breakthrough results, in a manner consistent with the funding opportunity announcement.”

In its final section, the Administration urges each agency head to explore the extent to which it may terminate grants for convenience and requires that all future grants include such termination provisions.