Raskin moves to stop ‘disastrous’ threat against medical research
Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has throttled billions in grants for health and science research through orders and foot dragging. There may soon be a rule to set this approach in stone.
It’s a sweeping change that would give GOP political appointees major new veto power over money from a range of federal agencies. And that’s sending new shock waves through Maryland’s large biomedical research community.
Late Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County, whose district includes the National Institutes of Health, launched the Democrats’ opposition.
The Trump administration defends its approach as fiscally responsible. But Raskin wrote in a letter to Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget and a Trump appointee, that the proposed rule is “disastrous and likely unlawful” and it is destined to stifle healthcare innovation for generations.
The long-standing grantmaking system built on expert reviews has made the country exceedin…