Budget Deal Defies Trump on Medical Research

The budget agreement Congress reached tonight would give the National Institutes of Health a $2 billion increase for the second year in a row, a Senate GOP aide confirms. That means congressional negotiators basically told the Trump administration to take a hike. The administration wanted to slash the agency’s funding by $1.2 billion in the bill to fund the federal government for the rest of the year.

Between the lines: This part of the agreement had been worked out weeks ago between the top appropriators, including Sen. Roy Blunt and Rep. Tom Cole.