GW Weekly Federal Update (June 26)

GW Updates

• In the May 30 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update, we reported that on May 27, Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed U.S. embassies to pause the scheduling of visa interviews for international students and visiting scholars, until the State Department issued additional guidelines that will include expanded social media screening for visa applicants. On June 18, a State Department cable provided those guidelines, directing consular officers to review applicants’ online presence for “any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States.” The cable also instructs embassies to flag any “advocacy for, aid or support for foreign terrorists and other threats to U.S. national security” and “support for unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence.” Applicants will be required to adjust their social media profile privacy settings to “public” to facilitate the vetting.

  Embassies have been authorized to resume scheduling student visa interviews, with priority given to applicants for J-1 physician exchange programs and students applying to institutions where international students make up 15 percent or less of the student body. GW’s fall 2024 enrollment census shows that 7.2 percent of the 11,182 total undergraduate enrollments were international students and 14.5 percent of the 25,374 total enrollments were international students.
  
  We will continue to monitor developments and remain committed to supporting our international community amid evolving federal visa and immigration policies. Additional resources are available on the GW International Services Office website and for students through Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

Recent Federal Actions

• In the June 18 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update, we reported that on June 16, the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts extended a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the proclamation preventing international students from entering the country in order to attend Harvard University. On June 20, the Court issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Harvard. Harvard and the Trump administration reportedly are now in renewed discussions to potentially settle their ongoing dispute.
   
• In the June 18 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update, we reported that on June 13, a federal judge declined to order the release of  international student Mahmoud Khalil, who led pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, from immigration detention despite finding that his initial arrest and the revocation of his green card were likely unconstitutional. On June 20, the same judge ordered Khalil's release, ruling that his confinement was likely an unconstitutional punishment for his political speech. 
   
• According to media reports, on June 24, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued an internal memo directing staff not to terminate any additional grants. NIH officials reportedly said they were still “continuing to categorize medical research grants based on whether they included topics disfavored by the Trump administration, even if they were not terminating those grants.”
   
• On June 24, the attorneys general of a number of states and the District of Columbia sued in Massachusetts district court challenging the Trump Administration’s ability to terminate grants under the regulatory provision that allows the government to terminate grants when they are “inconsistent with program goals or agency priorities.” The states argue that the regulation does not permit the Administration to terminate grants in the face of congressional authorization for the grant program “based on newly identified agency priorities” arising after award.
   
• Senate Republicans are working to bring their reconciliation package (H.R.1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act) to the floor by June 26, in line with their goal to finalize the bill before the July 4 recess. The Association of American Universities (AAU) sent a letter this week to Senate leadership expressing strong opposition to several provisions in the bill. These include proposals to cap student loan borrowing, eliminate graduate loan programs, and continue taxing Pell Grants. The letter also opposed expanding the endowment tax and imposing new financial aid eligibility restrictions based on student earnings. The AAU urged lawmakers to amend or remove these provisions to protect student access, institutional capacity, and the broader research enterprise.
  
  Several provisions face internal negotiations and procedural obstacles as well. Notably, Section 90107, which would have allowed the executive branch to reorganize or eliminate federal agencies without congressional oversight, and Section 203, which would have restricted federal courts’ ability to issue preliminary injunctions by imposing steep bond requirements, have been struck, as they raised serious concerns about executive overreach and access to judicial review.
   
• On June 18, more than 250 prominent business leaders—including former CEOs of American Airlines, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever—signed an open letter urging Congress and the Trump administration to reverse recent actions they say are harming U.S. research universities and threatening American innovation and competitiveness. Organized by the Leadership Now Project, the letter underscores the critical role universities play in driving economic growth and technological advancement. The signatories emphasized that their companies rely heavily on partnerships with university researchers and benefit directly from the talent developed at institutions across the country, and warned that recent funding cuts, visa restrictions, and proposed limits on NIH indirect cost recovery are already reducing research capacity. The letter calls for due process, nonpartisan oversight, and renewed federal investment in research and education.
   
• On June 25, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a markup focused on accreditation reform, advancing two bills aimed at reshaping how accreditation determines institutional eligibility for federal student aid. Both measures passed out of committee and will proceed to a floor vote. H.R. 2516, the Accreditation for College Excellence (ACE) Act, introduced by Subcommittee Chair Burgess Owens, would prohibit accreditors from considering political viewpoints—including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) standards—as part of quality assessments, instead emphasizing workforce outcomes. H.R. 4054, the Accreditation Choice and Innovation Act, introduced by Rep. Randy Fine, would require accreditors to prioritize measurable student-success outcomes, open the door for new accrediting agencies, and streamline the overall accreditation process.
   
• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is reportedly taking over the National Science Foundation (NSF) headquarters in Alexandria, VA, displacing more than 1,800 NSF employees. The transition, confirmed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3403, is expected to occur over the next two years and was not coordinated with NSF leadership or the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The union has voiced concern over the lack of a clear relocation plan for NSF staff and the potential disruption to the agency’s operations. AAU President Barbara R. Snyder released a statement on the announcement, calling it a “deeply misguided move that is an affront to our national priorities and a blow to our global competitiveness.”
   
• On June 18, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a vote of 6-3, upheld a Tennessee law that bans certain medical treatments for transgender children, saying it comports with the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Roberts observed: “Our role is not to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic of the law before us ... but only to ensure that it does not violate the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment." 

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.