Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics The local impact of changing federal grant rules Democratic policy makers are pushing back on a rule change proposed by the Office of Management and Budget that would grant political appointees veto power over federal research grants. We talk with people at the level of local government about what this could mean for them in areas like public health and research. Politics The local impact of changing federal grant rules August 5, 20264:22 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered By Katia Riddle The local impact of changing federal grant rules Listen · 3:56 3:56 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5913997/nx-s1-9876574" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Democratic policy makers are pushing back on a rule change proposed by the Office of Management and Budget that would grant political appointees veto power over federal research grants. We talk with people at the level of local government about what this could mean for them in areas like public health and research. Sponsor Message Transcript
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The Trump administration is considering a controversial rule change. It would give political appointees the final say over who gets federal grant money to fund projects in scientific research, public health and housing. Democrats have been pushing back, like Senator Adam Schiff of California.
ADAM SCHIFF: This will be the death knell of good science if the administration is able to put a rule like this into effect. That is going to kill our productivity, have hugely adverse impacts on our economy.
CHANG: NPR's Katia Riddle has been looking into what some of these adverse impacts could look like.
KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE: The job of county executive is not an easy one. That's the position that Mark Poloncarz holds in Erie County, New York.
MARK POLONCARZ: During my tenure, at least in county government, we've had a plane crash. We've had COVID, the mass shooting, numerous snowstorms. I've dealt with a lot.
RIDDLE: He's been in this role since 2012. Now Poloncarz is dealing with a potential change to the way federal grants are administered. He says if it happens, this crisis may not look like the other disasters he's dealt with.
POLONCARZ: But it is something that will make our lives a heck of a lot miserable.
RIDDLE: The Office of Management and Budget, working under the Trump White House, proposed the rule. If it goes into effect, political appointees would gain more control over many federal grants for scientific research but also just for local government programs. Political appointees could, in theory, stop and start programs already in process or withhold money for programs that don't align with their political agenda. For Poloncarz, that means nearly half the county budget could be in flux or suspended at any time.
POLONCARZ: We have more than a billion federal dollars that rolls into our community.
RIDDLE: Those dollars flow to a wide range of programs - workforce development, mental health grants, opioid addiction treatment and counseling, sewer infrastructure. Under this new rule, Poloncarz fears any of these programs could disappear at the whims of a political appointee. This would be a change from the way government has worked in the past.
POLONCARZ: It's not so much a partnership anymore. It's becoming sort of big brother, where big brother is telling little brother, here's what you're going to do. And that's never been the relationship that we've had with the federal government.
RIDDLE: There are more than 3,000 counties that receive billions of dollars in federal grants every year. Geeta Wadhwani represents the Wisconsin Public Health Association, another kind of recipient of federal funding. She says the dozens of local health departments in Wisconsin rely on this money for things like disease prevention.
GEETA WADHWANI: They're paying attention to how many cases of flu, how many cases of pneumonia are occurring in the community. And then what do we need to communicate with our hospitals so they are prepared?
RIDDLE: Wadhwani fears if this money is pulled out from local public health departments, they will lose these frontline public health workers.
WADHWANI: You need staff to do this. You need nurses who are on the phone talking to health systems, talking to clients in the community. And if these cuts come, you have fewer staff to do the work.
RIDDLE: The Office of Management and Budget sent an email statement that reads, quote, "this rule is fundamentally about accountability to the American people and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. Officials who are accountable to the president and, ultimately, the American people will give final approval before grants go out the door," unquote. Local officials like Wadhwani fear that destabilizing this money will have far-reaching consequences.
WADHWANI: If the grant funding is stopped today or tomorrow, a staff person's salary is no longer paid. They lose their job.
RIDDLE: Wadhwani fears losing jobs and other resources will ultimately mean losing trust, not only in public health but in the federal government altogether.
Katia Riddle, NPR News. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{310:function(e,n,o){o.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([o.e(1),o.e(2),o.e(3),o.e(4),o.e(80)]).then((e=>{o(15),o(769),o(155),o(176),o(93),o(447),o(254),o(128),o(130),o(754),o(175),o(755),o(255),o(78),o(773)}).bind(null,o)).catch(o.oe)},782:function(e,n,o){e.exports=o(310)}},[[782,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();