GW Weekly Federal Update (May 22)

GW Updates

• According to media reports, Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent letters to dozens of international students across the country with Optional Practical Training (OPT) visas, giving them 15 days to report employment or else their legal status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) will be terminated and they will be removed from the United States. The GW International Services Office continues to be a resource for international students and has posted resources about OPT requirements for international students.
   
• Following the departure of Sethuraman Panchanathan as Director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Brian Stone, NSF’s Chief of Staff and an alumnus of the GW School of Business (MBA ’04), is now serving as Acting Director until a permanent replacement is appointed by the White House and confirmed by the Senate. Stone, who has served at NSF for over 25 years in senior leadership roles, assumes the position during a period of significant transition. In the weeks leading up to Director Panchanathan’s resignation, the agency faced proposed budget and staffing cuts, the termination of hundreds of previously awarded research grants, and growing concerns about political interference in funding decisions.
   

Recent Federal Actions

• Indirect Cost Rates
   
  • On May 15, a federal district court issued a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from implementing a proposed 15% cap on facilities and administrative (F&A) cost recovery for research grants to institutions of higher education. The injunction stems from a joint lawsuit led by the Association of American Universities (AAU), of which GW is a member. In her ruling, Judge Allison D. Burroughs found that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of several claims under the Administrative Procedure Act and that institutions would suffer irreparable harm if the cap were enforced. The injunction halts the DOE’s “Rate Cap Policy” nationwide until further order of the court.
     
  • In the May 8 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update, we reported on the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s announcement to cap indirect cost rates and a lawsuit filed in opposition. On May 20, NSF announced that it has entered into a consent agreement with the court to pause implementation of its reduced rate through June 13, when a hearing is scheduled to occur in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. NSF announced that any awards issued during the pause will include a provision to apply the reduced rate for the full duration of the award if courts ultimately permit the policy to be implemented.
     
  • The U.S. Department of Defense is the fourth federal agency to announce that it will cap indirect cost reimbursement rates at 15% for institutions of higher education, according to a May 14 DOD memo. Legal challenges have been brought relating to similar caps instituted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NSF and DOE.
     
• On May 14, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights opened a Title IV investigation into Northwestern University following a complaint alleging the university failed to protect Jewish students from discrimination during and after campus protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. This investigation adds to existing federal scrutiny into Northwestern, including a Department of Education inquiry and a freeze on nearly $790 million in federal funding (as reported in the April 10 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update). Further enforcement actions may follow.
   
• On May 19, the Department of Justice issued a memo titled “Civil Rights Fraud Initiative” and a related press release announcing that the department will “utilize the False Claims Act to investigate and, as appropriate, pursue claims against any recipient of federal funds that knowingly violates federal civil rights laws.” The examples of such violations include “a university that accepts federal funds . . . when it encourages antisemitism, refuses to protect Jewish students, allows men to intrude into women's bathrooms, or requires women to compete against men in athletic competitions. Colleges and universities cannot accept federal funds while discriminating against their students.” The memo also cites as an example when a federal funds recipient certifies compliance with federal civil rights laws “while knowingly engaging in racist preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities, including through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that assign benefits or burdens based on race, ethnicity, or national origin.”
   
• Mirroring similar action taken by NIH (as reported in the April 24 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update), on May 19, NSF revised its “Grant General Conditions” stating that it will not award grants that promote “diversity, equity and inclusion . . . in violation of Federal anti-discrimination laws” or to institutions that academically boycott Israel or companies that do business with Israel. 
   
• On May 15, the U.S. District Court in Texas vacated portions of guidance issued by the EEOC in April 2024 addressing choice of restrooms, pronoun usage and other topics regarding transgender people in the workplace. The Court did so despite the 2020 Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The decision is consistent with the views of the Trump Administration, and the EEOC Acting Chair has vowed to modify the guidance as soon as the EEOC has a quorum. 
   
• Government actions against Harvard University continue. On May 19, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that it was terminating an additional $60 million in federal grant funding “due to Harvard University’s continued failure to address anti-Semitic harassment and race discrimination.” Nearly a third of Harvard’s federal funding had been cut prior to this latest action by HHS. Additionally, On May 19, the House Select Committee on China, the House Committee on Education and Workforce, and the Chairman of House Republican Leadership sent a letter to Harvard requesting documents and testimony regarding activities they claim pose national security risks.
   
• On May 15, the Federation of State Humanities Councils and Oregon Humanities filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Oregon against the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), challenging the termination of grants to all 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils. The suit challenges the abrupt termination of grants, claiming it violates the congressionally mandated partnership between NEH and the councils. The plaintiffs seek reinstatement of the grants and assurance that FY25 NEH funds are properly distributed. The cancellations have already led to layoffs, program cuts, and reduced support for community institutions nationwide.
   
• On May 20, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would prioritize “evidence-based literacy, expanding education choice, and returning education to the states” and not “divisive ideologies and unproven strategies” in determining whether to award discretionary grants. 
   
• On May 14, the U.S. District Court in Virginia ordered the release of Georgetown University postdoctoral fellow Badar Khan Suri from immigration detention, ruling that his arrest likely violated his First Amendment rights and rights to freedom of association. The court found no evidence that Khan Suri posed a danger to the community and emphasized that constitutional protections extend to noncitizens. Khan Suri, who had recently been teaching a course on “Majoritarianism and Minority Rights in South Asia” at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, was detained in March as part of a broader immigration crackdown targeting foreign scholars perceived as critical of U.S. foreign policy. 
   

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.