GW Weekly Federal Update (July 17)

Recent Federal Actions

• On July 14, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump Administration to proceed with mass layoffs at the Department of Education, lifting a lower court's block on the plan while legal challenges continue. The decision permits the Administration to cut roughly a third of the department’s 4,100 employees and shift some functions to states and other agencies. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has already laid off more than 1,300 staff, with 600 more accepting offers to leave, and has plans to close several regional offices. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also announced that it too is proceeding with terminating thousands of its employees based on the Supreme Court decision. 
   
• The latest on federal actions related to Columbia University: According to media reports, Columbia University is nearing an agreement with the Trump Administration to address the Administration’s allegations that Columbia was deliberately indifferent to acts of antisemitism on campus, in exchange for the Administration restoring at least some of the more than $400 million in federal research funding the Administration canceled.  According to the reports, the agreement would include Columbia paying at least $200 million in compensation. On July 15, Columbia’s president issued a letter to the Columbia community alluding to the university’s negotiations with the Administration on an agreement and announcing a series of additional efforts the university will be making to combat antisemitism on campus. Those efforts include adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, appointing Title VI and Title VII coordinators who will have advisory and enforcement responsibilities relating to allegations of discrimination, and providing additional training on antisemitism to faculty, students, and staff.
   
• On July 15, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce Committee held a hearing to evaluate antisemitism at colleges and universities. Witnesses included Dr. Robert M. Groves, interim president of Georgetown University; Dr. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, chancellor of the City University of New York; and Dr. Rich Lyons, chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley. The panelists described efforts to investigate and discipline misconduct, manage campus protests, and support Jewish students while maintaining academic freedom and institutional neutrality.
   
• On July 10, the U.S. District Court in New Hampshire issued a nationwide preliminary injunction in a class action lawsuit blocking enforcement of President Trump’s Executive Order denying citizenship to those born to parents living in the United States illegally or temporarily (“birthright citizenship”).
   
• The Department of Education has opened a second civil rights investigation into George Mason University (GMU), focusing on allegations that the university used race as a factor in faculty hiring and promotion decisions. The inquiry follows complaints from multiple faculty members and comes just weeks after the Department launched a separate investigation into the university’s handling of antisemitism on campus. A university spokesperson said GMU does not discriminate and is cooperating fully with the Department. GMU has defended the university’s policies, citing efforts to comply with federal mandates while addressing campus concerns, including renaming its DEI office.
   
• On July 15, the Department of Education issued a press release stating that it had opened an investigation into the University of Michigan for potential violations of federal foreign funding disclosure requirements. The inquiry follows a departmental review that allegedly uncovered incomplete and inaccurate information in the university’s submitted reports. Under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, institutions receiving federal financial assistance are required to report all foreign gifts and contracts valued at $250,000 or more in a calendar year. As part of the investigation, the Department has directed the university to provide a set of specified records within 30 calendar days to assess both the accuracy of its disclosures and its compliance with federal law.
   
• On July 14, the Department of Justice released guidance to implement President Trump’s Executive Order 14224, designating English as the official language of the United States. The guidance instructs federal agencies to, among other things, phase out “unnecessary multilingual offerings…, redirecting these funds towards research and programs that would expedite English-language acquisition and increase English-language proficiency and assimilation.”  According to the Attorney General, the initiative “is not merely a return to tradition but a forward-looking strategy to enhance social and economic integration, offering all residents the opportunity to learn and embrace English as a means of achieving the American dream.”
   
• As reported in prior editions of the Weekly Federal Update, multiple lawsuits are challenging proposed reductions in indirect cost rates for federally-sponsored research. On July 11, a working group of higher education associations, including the Association of American Universities (AAU), of which GW is a member, released its recommendation for a new model to calculate the facilities and administrative (F&A) costs incurred to support research. On July 15, a webinar was held to outline the proposed Financial Accountability in Research (FAIR) model and plans for advancing it with federal policymakers.
   
• On July 15, the Manhattan Institute, a think tank that includes individuals with ties to the Trump Administration as well as Republican representative Virginia Foxx, issued the “Manhattan Statement on Higher Education,” which calls on the Trump Administration to “draft a new contract” with universities that would require universities to, among other things, end “their direct participation in social and political activism,” deliver “swift and significant penalties, including suspension and expulsion, for anyone who would disrupt speakers, vandalize property, occupy buildings, call for violence, or interrupt the operations of the university,” abolish “DEI bureaucracies,” and publish “complete data on race, admissions, and class rank,” or otherwise face “revocation of all public benefit.”
   
• On July 10, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a markup of the FY26 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill. While the bill text was not released, members stated that it would provide $9 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and $24.5 billion for NASA, preserving current funding levels despite the significant reductions proposed in the Trump Administration’s budget request. In contrast, the House CJS bill, released the same week, includes $7 billion for NSF, a 23 percent cut from FY25, and flat funding for NASA at $24.8 billion, with targeted reductions to NASA Science and Aeronautics and Space Technology. The House also released its Energy-Water bill, which provides $8.4 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, exceeding both the FY25 enacted level and the president’s request. Additionally, the House Interior bill proposes a 35 percent cut to both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
   
• The Department of Education announced it will begin applying interest again to loans held by borrowers in the SAVE repayment plan, ending the temporary interest pause that had been in effect. While borrowers can remain in SAVE for now, interest will begin accruing even as payments remain in forbearance. Officials are encouraging borrowers to consider transitioning to the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan, which remains available to existing borrowers and allows continued progress toward loan forgiveness. The shift comes ahead of broader repayment changes mandated by the Trump Administration’s reconciliation law, which will eliminate the SAVE, PAYE, and ICR plans by June 30, 2028.

Resources and Reminders

About this Newsletter

To ensure that students, faculty and staff feel supported and informed about how federal developments affect higher education and GW, the university launched a weekly Federal Update. This newsletter shares timely information, addresses questions and provides resources.