President Trump issues Executive Order 14332: Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking
On August 7, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order (EO) 14332: Improving Oversight on Federal Grantmaking. This EO puts forth new requirements and restrictions on the federal grant-making process, many of which have been informally in place since the President’s earlier actions regarding federal funding. This Executive Order was an expected next step in the Trump Administration's continued disruption of federal procedures.
This Executive Order calls for federal agencies to designate a senior appointee “who shall be responsible for creating a process to review new funding opportunity announcements and to review discretionary grants to ensure that they are consistent with agency priorities and the national interest.” The EO also sets forth the requirement that discretionary awards should “demonstrably advance the President’s policy interest” and “shall not be used to fund… racial preferences; denial of the sex binary in humans; illegal immigration; or any other initiatives that… promote anti-American values.” Additionally, no new grant programs may be issued by an agency until said appointee has reviewed the program for consistency with these criteria.
Executive orders are directives from the President of the United States that manage operations of the federal government. Executive orders are not legislation; they require no approval from Congress, and Congress cannot simply overturn them. Legal challenge to executive orders, whether from the Supreme Court or a U.S. Circuit Court, may also lead to a pause or prevention of the effects of an EO. Congress may pass legislation that might make it difficult, or even impossible, to carry out the order. The Supreme Court may also strike down an order if it is determined that the Order exceeds the President’s authority. Another way executive orders may be stopped is if another executive order is signed that explicitly overturns a prior one.
This EO comes months after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued memorandum M-25-13, Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs, in February 2025. Except for a newly required designation of a senior political appointee, EO 14332 codifies those earlier directives, which federal agencies have already been unofficially abiding by.
The text of the Order also cites a desire by the President to “strengthen oversight” and “streamline” grantmaking processes to prevent the “waste” of tax dollars. However, these expanded review requirements and approval restrictions will have the short-term effect of slowing down grant processes and tightening the number of awards granted. Many such experiences have already been reported by applicants and grant awardees. The Aubrey Group continues to manage this process for our clients despite these disruptions.
The designation of political appointees also paves the way for potential political bias in grant evaluations. The text of the EO grants agency appointees extreme discretion when evaluating grant programs for their alignment with presidential priorities. Given the already highly politicized criteria set out in the OMB memo and the new EO, it’s likely that any grant program adjacent to the list of interests indicated above will not pass this new evaluation criteria.
While the effects of some executive orders can be felt immediately, others will require additional steps and action on behalf of a government agency before an Order will have any impact. The actions called for in EO 14332, which include political appointments to federal agencies and the creation of an entirely new grant funding program review process, may take weeks, months, or even years to implement.
This executive order marks additional changes to the federal grant-making procedure and a structural transformation of how federal discretionary grants are designed, reviewed, distributed, and terminated. It has the potential to impact long-term grant applications and strategy. In our assessment, it is likely that current lagged experiences with the federal grant-making process will continue throughout this administration.
While we understand the difficulties these changes cause, our team will advise our clients when a situation requires attention or if more patience is required while this process is adopted. As stated before, many of the actions in this EO were already unofficially in effect. Our team will continue to prepare the most competitive applications that adhere to the standards set forth by this Administration, while also staying true to the program and impact goals designed by your team. The Aubrey Group is closely monitoring developments in the federal grant-making space and tracking changes that may affect your grant application strategy.
Please contact me at cschmiegel@theaubreygroup.org / 856-535-1009 or Sarah Aubrey at saubrey@theaubreygroup.org / 201-273-6759 with any questions or concerns.