AAMC Statement on Executive Order on Federal Grantmaking

The AAMC is deeply concerned by the executive order issued on Aug. 7, 2025, which seeks to make detrimental changes in how federal grants are reviewed, awarded, and terminated. This misguided order will slow progress for cures and treatments that patients and families across the country urgently need by delaying critical research with problematic political and bureaucratic hurdles.

The United States leads the world in medical research and innovation, due in large part to a science-driven federal research enterprise that funds the most promising research identified through rigorous peer review. This system has produced lifesaving cures to health issues, advanced therapies and treatments, and led to critical health discoveries that benefit all Americans.

“This order opens the door for politics to override science, suggesting grants should be awarded or terminated based on subjective political judgments rather than scientific merit,” said David J. Skorton, MD, AAMC president and CEO. “Such changes undermine the independent review and stable and predictable funding process that biomedical research requires to succeed.”

The order will create significant bureaucratic bottlenecks in the grant review and approval process, slowing the pace of innovation and introducing political preferences as part of the approval process. At the same time, the order seeks to limit funding for the full costs of conducting research such as state-of-the-art research laboratories, high-speed data processing, and compliance with national security protections and patient safety protocols. This will weaken the ability of institutions to maintain essential research infrastructure.

The AAMC urges policymakers and administration officials to uphold the integrity of the federal research funding process. Science thrives when it is driven by transparency, peer review, and evidence - not politics.