It is National Beans ‘n’ Franks day. Cute.
Forget the franks. July 13 matters. It is the final minute—literally 11:59 PM ET on Monday—to weigh in on a new rule from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
This isn’t bureaucratic trivia. It shifts power. A lot of it. Right into the hands of political appointees who report directly to the White House.
If you are human. If you live in the U.S. This touches you.
Go to Regulations.gov. Comment before the clock runs out.
Money is control
The official name is dull. “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance.” Bland. Accurate? Barely.
Call it what it is. Turning over the reins on over $1.1 trillion.
That is the amount in federal grants handed out annually to cities. Universities. Small towns. Businesses. The rule rewrites 2 CFR Part 201. It removes external reviewers. It sidelines career civil servants. The people not hired by the President lose their voice in deciding where the money goes.
Andrew Jackson had it right. Money is power.
President Trump has already shown how to weaponize funding. Pause it. Cut it. Terminate it. He uses the threat to make universities dance.
This rule expands that authority. Deeply.
There will be less justification required. More discretion allowed.
So, snap. The P-word again. Power. The President gets to say he has it. And mean it.
Why supporters like it
They think it makes sense.
The President was elected by the people. Therefore. The President is the people’s will. The argument goes like this: Unelected bureaucrats stood in Trump’s way before. They slowed things down.
This rule removes the speed bump.
There is also an accounting angle. Proponents say tighter oversight protects taxpayers. You pay the bills. So should the person with your voice direct the spending.
They argue the money currently goes to places you wouldn’t fund. Wars. Pet projects. Waste.
Is that not frustrating?
“Taxpayers deserve a say. The President represents them. The rest are obstructionists.”
It is a clean narrative. Direct democracy through the executive branch.
Why opponents worry
The counter-argument is simple. One person cannot represent everyone.
Not in a country this big. This diverse.
What happens when the President’s agenda clashes with yours? Or your city’s? Or your university’s research goals?
For years we built checks. Balances. Peer review. Scientists deciding scientific grants. Experts handling complex technicalities. This rule erases those barriers.
Local governments are panicking.
Dante Moreno and Michael Wallace at the National League of Cities warn of “overriding local authority.” They note the changes hit nearly every federal funding stream.
They take effect October 1, 2O26. But the comment window is now.
“Administrative burdens will skyrocket. Compliance will change. Grants can be killed mid-award.”
The National Association of Counties agrees. Theirs are 3,006 counties. They handle disaster relief. Public health. Housing.
They face a nightmare scenario. The President dangles funds hostage. Forces a county to act. If they refuse? The money stops.
Risk shifts to local officials. Liability lands on them.
Imagine the pressure. Do as told or watch your emergency services collapse.
That is the trade-off. Efficiency for autonomy. Control for chaos.
Or maybe just control. And quiet.
