Under a proposed rule from the White House Office of Management and Budget, political appointees would have more power over hundreds of billions of dollars in discretionary grant funding, diminishing the traditional role of scientific peer reviewers. The rule would require political appointees to review grants before they’re awarded to ensure projects advance the president’s priorities. Carmen Guerra, MD, the Ruth C. and Raymond G. Perelman Professor of Medicine, and AACR President-Elect Robert Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, director of the Abramson Cancer Center, shared their perspectives on how this proposed rule could affect cancer research.