Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led 151 Members of Congress in sending a public comment letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) urging the agency to reject the Trump Administration’s proposed rule to politicize all federal grant funding. The rule would allow President Trump to allocate taxpayer dollars based on his personal interests and would open unprecedented opportunities for waste, abuse, and corruption.
“The Trump Administration's new proposal to give political appointees the power to approve and terminate federal grants based on the President's political priorities is a dangerous abuse of power. President Trump does not and should not have the power to award federal dollars to friends or withhold it from his political enemies whenever he wants. Federal grants should serve the American people, not the political interests of the White House. We'll fight this proposal and defend the integrity of federal funding,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.
Background information
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued the proposed rule on May 26, 2026, which would give political appointees expansive power to approve and terminate grants. It would institute new requirements that all federal grants be approved by senior political appointees who would be required to ensure that the funds “advance the President’s policy priorities.”
By moving decisions about grant funding into the hands of political appointees charged with a mandate to only fund projects and recipients that align with its partisan ideology, the Trump Administration is escalating its radical and unlawful attempts to seize broad, unilateral power. The proposed rule would also expand the Administration’s power to terminate grants without cause by finding that they are “no longer in the Federal Government’s interest” and gives OMB and the White House direct oversight of specific institutions and organizations that receive grants. This would allow the Trump Administration to expand its efforts to control institutions that do not share the President’s extreme political positions.
Federal grants drive lifesaving discoveries, serve as a lifeline for families and communities, and help address Americans’ needs and challenges on critical issues including public health, public safety, childcare, education, and infrastructure. Partisan political appointees should not have the unilateral ability to put these vital programs at risk.
The letter is signed by the following Members of Congress: Ranking Member Robert Garcia (CA-42), Rep. Gabe Amo (RI-01), Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL), Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Rep. Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Rep. Wesley Bell (MO-01), Rep. Ami Bera (CA-06), Rep. Donald Beyer (VA-08), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26), Rep. Shontel Brown (OH-11), Rep. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Rep. Troy Carter (LA-02), Rep. Greg Casar (TX-35), Rep. Sean Casten (IL-06), Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14), Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), Rep. Gilbert Cisneros (CA-31), Rep. Katherine Clark (MA-05), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), Rep. J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02), Rep. Angie Craig (MN-02), Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Rep. Jason Crow (CO-06), Rep. Danny Davis (IL-07), Rep. Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Rep. Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Rep. Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11), Rep. Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Rep. Laura Friedman (CA-30), Rep. Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Rep. John Garamendi (CA-08), Rep. Jesús García (IL-04), Rep. Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Rep. Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), Rep. Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Rep. Pablo Hernández (PR-AL), Rep. James Himes (CT-04), Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04), Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD-05), Rep. Val Hoyle (OR-04), Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-02), Rep. Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), Rep. Henry Johnson (GA-04), Rep. Julie Johnson (TX-32), Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02), Rep. Timothy Kennedy (NY-26), Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17), Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), Rep. John Larson (CT-01), Rep. George Latimer (NY-16), Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03), Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49), Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36), Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Rep. Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Rep. John Mannion (NY-22), Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-07), Rep. April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Rep. Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04), Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08), Rep. Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), Rep. James McGovern (MA-02), Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Rep. Gregory Meeks (NY-05), Rep. Analilia Mejia (NJ-11), Rep. Christian Menefee (TX-18), Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06), Rep. Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Rep. Dave Min (CA-47), Rep. Joseph Morelle (NY-25), Rep. Kelly Morrison (MN-03), Rep. Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Rep. Joe Neguse (CO-02), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Rep. Johnny Olszewski (MD-02), Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Rep. Chris Pappas (NH-01), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Rep. Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Rep. Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-05), Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Rep. Emily Randall (WA-06), Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Rep. Josh Riley (NY-19), Rep. Luz Rivas (CA-29), Rep. Deborah Ross (NC-02), Rep. Patrick Ryan (NY-18), Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Rep. Kim Schrier (WA-08), Rep. Robert C. Scott (VA-03), Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07), Rep. Brad Sherman (CA-32), Rep. Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Rep. Adam Smith (WA-09), Rep. Eric Sorensen (IL-17), Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Rep. Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11), Rep. Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Rep. Emilia Sykes (OH-13), Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39), Rep. Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rep. Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04), Rep. Dina Titus (NV-01), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Rep. Paul Tonko (NY-20), Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Rep. Lori Trahan (MA-03), Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-52), Rep. Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Rep. Eugene Vindman (VA-07), Rep. James Walkinshaw (VA-11), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Rep. George Whitesides (CA-27), Rep. Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Rep. Frederica Wilson (FL-24).
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