Trump Takes Aim at Grant Spending in New Executive Order

‘Every tax dollar the Government spends should improve American lives or advance American interests. This often does not happen,’ the executive order says.

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on July 31, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

President Donald Trump on Aug. 7 signed an executive order that takes aim at federal grant spending, seeking to tighten parameters to receive approval for such grants and subject grant award decisions to evaluation by executive appointees.

“Every tax dollar the Government spends should improve American lives or advance American interests. This often does not happen,” the executive order says. “Federal grants have funded drag shows in Ecuador, trained doctoral candidates in critical race theory, and developed transgender-sexual-education programs.”