President Donald Trump directed budget director Russ Vought to draft an executive order creating a board of political appointees to decide which National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants receive funding. The move would place billions of dollars in federal health research grants under political oversight and represents another effort to cut Harvard University’s funding. Two administration officials familiar with Friday’s Oval Office meeting said Congress had already signaled disapproval of an earlier Vought plan, temporarily blocking its implementation through a stopgap funding bill this month. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) personally rejected that proposal. The officials said cutting Harvard’s funding remains a major priority for Trump, prompting him to pursue a workaround.