Key Updates
- On March 11, the Department of Education announced that nearly 50% of the department’s staff would be terminated in a reduction in force, impacting nearly every unit within the department.
- This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government open through the end of the fiscal year, extending some fiscal 2024 funding levels and implementing some cuts throughout the federal government. A missing provision in the legislation would also have extreme consequences for the District of Columbia's current budget if the CR is passed by the Senate.
The District government has been operating under its Congressionally-approved budget, expending local funds, since the start of the fiscal year. The currently proposed continuing resolution, however, treats the District as an agency and would therefore require it to revert its spending to fiscal 2024 levels. To meet this lowered spending threshold in under six months, the District government would need to cut approximately $1.1 billion in general fund spending within days. The cut could result in immediate furloughs and layoffs that would likely affect the Metropolitan Police Department, Fire and Emergency Services, DC Public and Public Charter Schools, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and other departments that supply essential services in the District. A memo from the District on the full potential impact is available here.
The bill's fate in the Senate is unclear, with votes from Democrats needed for passage. Despite Democratic opposition to the content of the bill, many senators are unwilling to shut down the government at all. Democratic appropriations leaders Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Patty Murray introduced an alternative short-term CR this week.
On March 7, the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, and the U.S. General Services Administration—acting as members of the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism—announced the cancellation of approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” GW is a co-PI on some of the canceled grants at Columbia. As Columbia is attempting to work with the administration to restore that funding, GW is doing some contingency planning in the event that such funding is not restored.
The department’s announcement also noted that the “cancellations represent the first round of action” and GW is among 10 university campuses that the task force has indicated it intends to visit as part of its investigation.
- On March 4, Johns Hopkins University announced that most of its USAID grant portfolio, totaling more than $800 million, had been terminated as a result of federal actions taken to dismantle USAID activities, requiring the university to take steps to reduce expenses which may include reductions in personnel.
In follow up to executive orders tasking various federal agencies, including Homeland Security, to take actions to arrest and deport nonresident aliens who endorse or are associated with terrorist groups or are otherwise considered to be a threat to U.S. national security, on March 8, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an international student who led pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. A White House fact sheet warns international students who engage in “pro-jihadist protests” that they could be subject to deportation. On March 10, the federal district court in New York temporarily prohibited the government from deporting the student. After a court hearing on March 12, the student will continue to remain in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana pending further court proceedings.
In addition, State Department officials are reportedly launching an initiative called “Catch and Revoke” to screen student visa holders’ social media accounts to cancel visas of students who “appear to support Hamas or other designated terrorist groups.” The effort will also include an examination of the department’s internal databases to determine whether students had been arrested during the Biden administration and allowed to remain in the United States. The U.S. Department of State has not made an official announcement regarding this program.
As a reminder, the university has guidance for GW staff in the event of an unannounced visit by immigration enforcement officials. Guidance for international students is available from the International Services Office.
- On Feb. 21, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction barring the Administration from implementing parts of its executive orders directed to DEI, including those that 1) directed all executive agencies to “terminate … ‘equity-related’ grants or contracts,” 2) directed all executive agencies to “include in every contract or grant award” a certification, enforceable through the False Claims Act, that the contractor and grantee “does not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws,” and 3) directed the U.S. Attorney General to take “appropriate measures to encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI,” “deter” such “programs or principles” and “identify … potential civil compliance investigations” to accomplish such “deter[rence].” There was some uncertainty as to whether the injunction applied to all federal government agencies. On Monday, the court clarified that the preliminary injunction barred all federal agencies from implementing these portions of the executive orders.
- On Wednesday, the university shared additional guidance with faculty regarding agencies that may have sent surveys or other requests for data to federally-funded investigators. Faculty are reminded that these and other communications from the federal government—including data requests, surveys, stop-work orders or other notices—should be forwarded to the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) at osr@
gwu. . Only the assistant vice provost for sponsored projects, GW's Authorized Organization Representative, is authorized to respond to sponsor requests on behalf of the university.edu
- On March 7, President Trump signed an executive order, “Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness,” that directs the Secretary of Education to propose revisions to the program to ensure the definition of public service “excludes organizations that engage in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose.” Updating eligibility for the program would typically require the agency to undergo a rulemaking process.
Reminder for Researchers
If you are a researcher and receive any communication from the federal government or their representative about your award, promptly forward those messages to the Office of Sponsored Projects at osr@
More Information
For more information about federal updates, visit GW Federal Updates and the GW Office of Sponsored Projects Federal Transition Updates.
Questions
If you have a question related to federal changes and their impact at GW, please reply to this email or contact GW Government and Community Relations at ogcr@
About this Newsletter
To ensure that you feel informed, supported, and equipped to understand how federal developments may affect higher education and GW specifically, the university launched a weekly Federal Update series. These updates aim to provide clear, timely information on key policy changes and their implications for GW while also addressing questions and providing relevant resources.
GW remains committed to our mission and values—advancing education, research, and scholarship in a way that fosters inclusion, excellence, and the free exchange of ideas. The university also will comply with the law while doing everything in our power to keep our community safe.