GW Weekly Federal Update (August 28)

Recent Federal Actions

• This week, President Trump signed a series of executive orders increasing federal oversight of Washington, D.C. On August 25, President Trump issued an EO that expands the National Guard’s domestic role to respond to civil disturbances within their jurisdictions, part of which includes the creation of a new public safety rapid-response force within the D.C. National Guard. The new D.C. National Guard unit would be activated under Title 32, the same section of U.S. law under which Trump directed Guard members to deploy earlier this month, and would deputize members to enforce federal law and expand the National Guard’s jurisdiction. Trump also issued an executive action attempting to eliminate cashless bail policies within the District. The executive order on D.C. directs the administration to take certain actions if the city does not change its cashless bail policy, including withholding "federal funding decisions, services, or approvals," according to the fact sheet. 
   
• On August 25, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform announced an investigation into whether D.C. police manipulated data in a potentially widespread effort to make crime rates appear lower at the direction of department leadership. By September 2, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) must provide documents to the Committee as well as make MPD District Commanders available for a transcribed interview. The action comes less than a week after the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney for D.C., Jeanine Pirro, announced a federal probe into the statistics.
   
• On August 21, the State Department stated its plans to vet all 55 million foreigners who currently hold visas for travel to the U.S. to look for “things like any indicators of overstays, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity, or providing support to a terrorist organization.” 
   
• On August 25, the House Education and Workforce Committee sent letters to the University of Illinois College of Medicine, the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and the University of California, Los Angeles Geffen School of Medicine regarding allegations of antisemitism. The correspondence outlines reported conduct by faculty, staff, and students that is described as contributing to a hostile environment for Jewish members of the campus community. The letters emphasize that institutions receiving federal funds have legal obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to address discrimination and harassment, and request information on how the schools are responding to these concerns.
   
• In the June 18 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update, we reported that the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts ordered the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to restore certain grant funding that it had terminated. On August 21, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that NIH did not have to restore grant funding at this time, holding that the district court lacked jurisdiction to hear challenges to the grant terminations. Rather, challenges to the termination of grant funding belong in the Court of Federal Claims. However, the Court of Federal Claims can only issue damages for unlawful termination of grants, and does not have the authority to require that grants be reinstated. The Supreme Court did not, however, pause the district court’s conclusion that NIH’s underlying policy directives supporting the termination of the grants violated the Administrative Procedure Act, and accordingly, the district court had jurisdiction to consider the legality of the NIH policies. 
   
• The latest on federal actions related to George Mason University:  As reported in the August 7 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update, the Trump Administration launched multiple investigations into George Mason’s handling of race in admissions and hiring practices. On August 22, the Department of Education announced its finding that George Mason violated Title VI by “illegally using race and other immutable characteristics in university practices and policies, including hiring and promotion.” It issued a proposed resolution agreement under which, among other requirements, George Mason’s President would be required to issue a “personal apology for promoting unlawful discriminatory practices” and “personally issue a statement to all University students and employees that GMU will conduct all recruitment, hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions in compliance with Title VI, and disseminate information to the campus community explaining how to submit a discrimination complaint.”  According to media reports, on August 25, George Mason President Gregory Washington informed the Board of Trustees that he would not apologize, as doing so “would be falsely admitting to conduct that did not occur and would open GMU to further legal risk.”
   
• As reported in the May 30 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update, President Trump issued an executive order aimed at restoring what the Administration calls “Gold Standard Science” in federal decision-making. Federal agencies were required to submit plans for their implementation of the EO by August 22. Implementation plans for the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, NIH, and the National Science Foundation are now available on the agencies' websites. Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency is reinstating its 2012 scientific integrity policy, removing a January 2025 policy in accordance with the EO.
   
• On August 20, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights announced that it has opened a directed investigation into Haverford College for allegedly violating Title VI. The investigation is based on “credible reports that Haverford has failed to respond as required by law to multiple incidents of discrimination and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students on its campus.”
   
• On August 25, the Association of American Universities (AAU) submitted a memo to the Department of Education regarding implementation of the H.R.1 reconciliation bill. AAU urged the Department to provide clearer definitions of graduate and professional degree programs, noting concerns about the phase-out of Grad PLUS loans and new loan limits that could restrict access to advanced study. The association also emphasized the need for transparent communication of changes to federal student aid, including how programs will be evaluated under new earnings tests and how Pell Grants will be packaged in financial aid offers. Finally, AAU recommended expanding representation on the negotiated rulemaking committees to include financial aid administrators, who manage the aid systems directly affected by these provisions. Negotiated rulemaking is scheduled to take place from late September through early January.
   
• On August 25, the Department of Education and other federal agencies issued a press release and related guidance entitled “Safeguarding Academia,” alerting U.S. institutions of higher education about increasing foreign threats to their research and arming them with mitigation strategies for addressing these threats. The guidance addresses foreign talent recruitment programs, overseas research collaboration, foreign intelligence service interference, and cyber intrusion, and it encourages reporting concerns to U.S. authorities. The press release noted that the Department of Education has initiated four investigations or records requests into universities for untimely and inaccurate foreign financial disclosures, in violation of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, including Harvard University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania. 
   
• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the termination of the Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) program, which provided grants to colleges and universities to expand the participation of minority faculty, students, and investigators in biomedical research. In a Federal Register notice, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the decision was made to comply with recent executive orders and the 2023 Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action. The change takes effect September 25. 
   

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.