Grant Slam: New Executive Order Serves Up Changes For Federal Grants

What You Need to Know

Key takeaway #1

Discretionary grants and funding opportunity announcements will face stricter content and eligibility requirements. Appointed administration officials must review grants and funding opportunity announcements, and funding is expressly prohibited for grants deemed to relate to race, gender identity, undocumented immigrants, or “initiatives that compromise public safety or promote anti-American values.”

Key takeaway #2

Agencies must incorporate termination-for-convenience clauses into all discretionary grant agreements, allowing for immediate termination if awards no longer support agency priorities or “the national interest.” The Administration effectively concedes that it lacks authority to terminate grants for these reasons based on the current terms in most agreements.