Senate Bipartisan CR Blocks Trump Federal Grants Takeover
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- Senate leadership released text on Sunday of a bipartisan government funding continuing resolution that would block the Trump administration's proposal to let political appointees control federal research grants
- The continuing resolution would fund the government until Dec. 11 and would only block the new grants proposal until that date, but the article notes it will now be harder for Republicans to allow the plan to take effect after agreeing to block it
- The blocking provision emerged from bipartisan discussions in the appropriations committee and was agreed to by Republican leadership
- The Senate is expected to consider the funding bill this week before breaking for August recess
- The House passed its own government funding bill two weeks ago that does NOT include a similar provision blocking the grant rule, and is already in recess
- The two chambers will need to reconcile their differences after the House returns, before government funding expires at the end of September, and the president would need to sign the final bill
Why it matters: By agreeing to block the Trump administration's grant politicization plan in the Senate CR — even temporarily — Republican leadership makes it politically harder to later endorse that plan, creating a concrete procedural barrier for researchers and universities. The House version's omission of the same provision sets up a bicameral fight that must be resolved before the end-of-September funding deadline.
