An update on the OMB comments story. A few days ago I became aware of a bizarre issue with the OMB website that throws serious doubt on the overall reported number of comments received. Our analysis focused on posted comments only and none of that is affected. But this is really weird:

Let me put the call out: if you are a researcher with any interest in collaborating on a newsy research project PLEASE send that pitch my way. I am happy to work with you and get original, news-making research published at STAT.

An analysis of public comments on a White House proposal to change the way federal contracts and grants are doled out shows widespread opposition. www.statnews.com/2026/07/15/t...

1/ I was happy to talk @aniloza.bsky.social on the wonderful work that he, @jaeyeonkim.bsky.social, @mfgallo.bsky.social, Betsy Pleasants & @jaspar.bsky.social on assessing the OMB rulemaking. Poor @aniloza.bsky.social got quite a lecture on comments, LOL!

The (initial) results are in: most of the publicly available comments on OMB's proposal to overhaul federal grantmaking are negative 95% of the 50k available comments were opposed, just 1% were in support Political control, peer review, and terminations were most common topics mentioned

New: An analysis of a huge wave of public comments on a White House proposal to change federal grant-making found that about 95% were posted in opposition. Via @aniloza.bsky.social @jaspar.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/07/15/t...

Powerful, important read from @rosebroderick.bsky.social. As states absorb Medicaid funding cuts, family caregivers face financial ruin: www.statnews.com/2026/07/13/f...

glad to know I am not the only procrastinator around ... 50k comments were submitted about the OMB proposal *yesterday* Since we wrote about this a week ago, 260k have been submitted. (Only 50k are available to search on the docket as of now)

The attack on home care continues. A year after GOP legislators passed a tax bill that gutted Medicaid, several states are weighing proposals that would slash wages for family caregivers of people with disabilities. @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/07/13/f...

Thank you @dgorenstein.bsky.social and @lesliemwalker.bsky.social for featuring my FDA reporting on @tradeoffs.org! It was a great conversation. Listen to the podcast episode here: tradeoffs.org/2026/07/09/a...

Long story from @aniloza.bsky.social at STAT on the proposed OMB regulations. www.statnews.com/2026/07/08/t... 1/2

Not just last year's tempest: Political moves to control science are looking more permanent. @aniloza.bsky.social at @statnews.com explores: www.statnews.com/2026/07/08/t...

Last year, when we wrote American Science, Shattered it felt to many like the social contract of science had been shred Halfway into 2026, it feels like a new one is taking shape, and it’s marked by more political control: www.statnews.com/2026/07/08/t...

New: The Trump administration is pursuing more durable changes to science policy after setbacks in court. Via @aniloza.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/07/08/t...

@aniloza.bsky.social’s new piece is required reading to understand the stakes of the OMB uniform guidance proposal in light of the Slaughter ruling. www.statnews.com/2026/07/08/t...

Worked with @bobjherman.bsky.social on the data for this piece. Here’s the chart I think is the showstopper: Over the last 40 years, the amount of money spent on employer-sponsored insurance premiums skyrocketed by nearly 1000%, well above baseline inflation.

C.J. Peters, one of the legendary virus hunters of decades past, has died. In 2018, I traveled to his home in Galveston, Tex., where he told me jaw-dropping story after jaw-dropping story. He had an extraordinary brain and was hugely curious. Such a loss. www.statnews.com/2018/02/20/v...

62% of likely Republican voters 👀

“The bottom line is that measuring fitness does not create fitness,” Avery Faigenbaum told @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social at @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/07/02/p...

FYI: STAT is having a 4th of July sale where you can get two years of unlimited access for the price of one. So that's $399 for 24 months. marketing.statnews.com/stat-plus-ju...

Op-ed by former Trump adviser and colleague of Jay Bhattacharya, Scott Atlas, in wapo calling for the NIH to be abolished www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Getting my slides ready for tomorrow's webinar... Day 21: 44134 total comments, 21950 mention science, 24501 mention research

This is tomorrow‼️ We have a really great group to talk about and answer questions on the OMB proposed change to the uniform guidance Quick thread of our panelists

Some public resources for this rule:  A. Webinar about it, July 1: healthjournalism.org/event/white-... 6/n

How the Trump administration derailed alcohol addiction research and prevention www.statnews.com/2026/06/30/m...

Glad to see this story and coverage of an important paper. www.statnews.com/2026/06/17/n... 1/16

Scoop with @mercohn.bsky.social: Johns Hopkins University is laying off more than 100 employees in the Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Carey Business School and central administration. Hopkins is suffering "debilitating" decreases in federal research funding www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Looks like groups outside the scientific community are commenting in higher numbers Day 18: 35,323 total comments, 17,458 mention science, 19,135 mention research

NIH posted its updated data on Research, Condition, and Disease Categories for FY 25 and all three categories for health disparities work took hits

Are you struggling to parse through the 412 pg proposal from OMB that has the scientific community talking? Join me NEXT WEEK w/ @elizabethginexi.bsky.social @nejm.org & @aaas.org for @healthjournalism.org webinar unpacking the proposal & how 🫵 can report on it healthjournalism.org/event/white-...

You rarely see a perfect headline in the wild like this

wild story from Lizzy — FDA gave compassionate use access to a 79 year old through senior NIH clinician, @muniyappar.bsky.social, could it be President Trump? Read more from Lizzy on what she found out, and what ethicists had to say about it

EXCLUSIVE: Eli Lilly gave compassionate use access to retatrutide, their unapproved powerful obesity drug, to a 79-year-old man in April. The application was arranged by a top doctor at NIH, and cleared by the FDA. www.statnews.com/2026/06/23/e...

Health equity researchers fear unseen level of scrutiny under White House proposal www.statnews.com/2026/06/22/h... via @statnews.com @aniloza.bsky.social

There's been a lot of attention on the OMB proposal, namely the changes to peer review, but I wanted to highlight another side of it: how health disparities research, already under a lot of political pressure, could be at risk www.statnews.com/2026/06/22/h...

Hey, check it out, a cool thing happened!

Been a while since I checked Day 14 (I'm counting business days): 25328 total comments, 12324 mention science, 13832 mention research

A 20 year study on 2 NIH diversity programs in Science Advances shows they doubled undergrads' odds of getting a Ph.D. That is, before the funding for those programs and for the study itself was terminated last year: www.statnews.com/2026/06/17/n...

How do you persuade people they need to take #Ebola seriously when more in their midst are dying from other diseases & armed conflict? That is the challenge #WHO DG Tedros confronted when he visited the outbreak zone in DRC this week. “Ebola is a lesser evil." www.statnews.com/2026/06/13/w...

Noticeable departure from the current message being delivered by NASEM leadership.

As someone that has invoked Vannevar Bush more than my colleagues would like .... I appreciated this piece making the case that there are other figures we could reach for as touchstones amid all of the upheaval

RFK Jr. claimed his calendar, including meeting details, is public. But those records have not been released — despite more than a year of FOIA requests from @statnews.com reporters. More on the state of transparency at HHS, w/ @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/06/11/r...

The Trump admin is poised to revive a proposal that has been floated several times — most recently in 2017 — to cap the number of grants an investigator can receive Some see in the promise, others aren't sure now is the moment given ... everything going on www.statnews.com/2026/06/11/n...

Here I thought I could drop off looking at the # of comments on the OMB proposal on a weekly basis ... Day 9: 15583 total comments, 8468 mention "science," new category — 9011 mention "research" at the suggestion of @dangaristo.bsky.social

Fallout continues from the ADA's decision to forcibly expel five diabetes experts from its annual meeting in New Orleans for handing out copies of an editorial criticizing federal cuts to biomedical research. Liz Cooney has the latest: www.statnews.com/2026/06/09/a...

#HHS refused for weeks to confirm what was widely known: Jeffery Taubenberger had been removed as acting director of #NIAID. Today HHS confirmed that John H. Powers is now acting director. Why this happened & why HHS refused to admit it remains undisclosed. www.statnews.com/2026/06/09/n...

#Breaking: NIAID appoints new acting director after weeks-long questions over leadership www.statnews.com/2026/06/09/n...

NEW: NIAID appoints new acting director after weeks-long questions over leadership. Via @aniloza.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/06/09/n...

After weeks of NIAID, the NIH's second largest institute, being in a leadership vacuum following Jeffrey Taubenberger stepping down, it has a new director: John H. Powers III www.statnews.com/2026/06/09/n...