Executive Order 14332: What You Need to Know About the New Federal Grant Rules

On August 7, 2025, the White House issued Executive Order (EO) 14332, titled “Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking.” Among other measures, the EO 14332 sets new requirements for federal agency leaders regarding the management of discretionary grants. This will have immense implications for many grant programs related to bicycling and walking safety, including RAISE (also called BUILD) grants, Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A), and the Reconnecting Communities Program, among others.

Summary of Executive Order 14332

According to the EO, federal agency leaders must designate at least one senior official to review discretionary grant awards and all new notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) each year to ensure they align with agency priorities and the national interest. Additionally, the order mandates that agencies temporarily halt any new NOFOs until such a review process is established. 

The EO also instructs senior agency designees not to routinely approve and not to depend on peer reviews or other officials for reviewing grant applications. Instead, the designee should use their own “independent judgment.” 

Additionally, the EO directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to update the regulations related to federal grant applications and awards by including a termination clause in all discretionary grants. This change gives agencies more control over the funding they distribute and strengthens their ability to end grants. 

The executive order also outlines basic updates to the federal grantmaking process, such as how NOFOs are developed. The order requires agencies to review NOFOs and related forms to ensure they are written in “plain language.” The aim is to reduce the need for technical and legal assistance when applying for grants. (Such a plain language requirement is especially helpful for small municipalities that may not have the internal resources to complete federal grant applications, as they have traditionally been written.) 

Finally, the order states that awarded grants must “demonstrably advance the President’s policy priorities” and describes seven principles that grants cannot be used to promote, including “illegal immigration,” “anti-American values,” or “racial preferences,” among other requirements. 

Implications of Executive Order 14332

The first implication is that current and prospective grantees of federal awards are likely to encounter delays, and in some cases grant cancellations, due to the new review process. For current grantees, a review of the grant could find that it no longer meets the administration’s priorities. For prospective grantees, both OMB and the agencies must first update existing rules, terms, and conditions as directed by the EO before any new NOFOs can be issued. 

Secondly, since the EO does not cover mandatory spending, block grants, or formula grants, it is the discretionary grant programs, such as Safe Streets for All (SS4A), that are most at risk. The SS4A program provides funding to local governments to develop data-driven safety plans and identify priority projects. Once a local government finalizes the plans, it can apply for funding to implement them. Local governments often know best where the most dangerous roads, intersections, and turns are. (Before SS4A, many local governments relied on their state Department of Transportation to determine safety projects). The program has been highly successful, covering over 75% of the entire United States population through one or more of the 1,600 SS4A planning grants awarded so far. And, perhaps most importantly, for about half of the communities, the SS4A grant is the first and only federal transportation grant they have received. 

A third implication of the order is that the administration aims to award grants to a broader range of grantees, especially by not continuing to approve grants for those who have “received awards year after year,” as the White House fact sheet on the EO states. While this may be intended to target colleges and universities, it can be applied broadly. 

Finally, the EO makes nearly all discretionary funding dependent on the review and approval of the political appointees at the disbursing federal agencies. The EO also states that the “review shall include an accountability mechanism for officials responsible for selection and granting of the awards” for their “consistency with agency priorities.” 

Next Steps

The League is collaborating with our partners in Washington, DC, to understand better the breadth and impact of this EO on current grantees. Already, several grants related to bicycling and walking have been cancelled. The number of cancelled grants and associated loss of funding could grow much higher. 

We will work with champions in Congress to protect projects already awarded and future funding intended to make our roads safer. 

And we may need your voice very soon to once again raise the alarm that bike lanes are on the chopping block. Sign up for our eNews or Action Alerts to get notified: http://bikeleague.org/subscribe