The Northwestern University study, published in Science journal, examined 171 specific federal appropriations accounts across 27 agencies and found that science received roughly $150 million more per account annually when Republicans controlled the House of Representatives, and $100 million more under Republican presidents. Republicans provided more funding to the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during their tenure. Their approach captured not just the familiar grant-making that funds university research, but the full spectrum of federal science spending including contracts and internal agency research. One theory suggests Democrats face more competing priorities within fixed budgets, spreading their attention across social programs, education, and healthcare in addition to science. The House of Representatives wielded more influence over science funding than the Senate, likely due to majority party procedural advantages that don’t exist in the upper chamber’s more consensus-driven environment.