President Trump met with House and Senate leaders Wednesday in the White House to discuss Republicans’ strategy for passing a reconciliation package. Congressional leaders are still debating whether to pass a single bill or two bills.
Legislative Branch Activities of Interest
President Trump met with House and Senate leaders Wednesday in the White House to discuss Republicans’ strategy for passing a reconciliation package. Congressional leaders are still debating whether to pass a single bill or two bills.
Last week, the House passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act by a mostly party-line vote with two Texas Democrats voting in favor. The legislation amends Title IX by prohibiting institutions receiving federal financial assistance from allowing “a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.” The bill defines sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” The legislation will likely soon be considered in the Senate.
On Wednesday, the House passed the Laken Riley Act (S. 5), which passed the Senate on Monday. The bill includes a provision that would allow state attorneys general to sue the State Department to stop the issuance of visas to individuals from recalcitrant countries that do not accept deportees from the United States. President Trump is expected to sign the bill.
FY 25 Appropriations
Lawmakers have announced that they aim to secure an initial agreement on defense and nondefense spending figures for the FY25 Budget by early next week. That agreement would set the stage for more detailed discussions on spending levels for each of the twelve annual government funding bills ahead of the March 14 deadline.
Bills Introduced
H.R. 406 – PROTECT Jewish Students and Faculty Act. Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN) reintroduced this legislation, which mandates colleges to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to receive Title IV federal funds.
S.3580 – Protecting Students on Campus Act. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) reintroduced this bill to improve awareness among students on how to file Title VI civil rights complaints with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The language mandates federally funded colleges to inform students about filing discrimination complaints and requires institutions to report the number of complaints received and actions taken. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Cassidy emphasized combating antisemitism on campuses as a key priority in the new Congress.
Endowment Tax Fairness Act(Bill number not yet assigned) – Rep. Troy E. Nehls (R-TX) introduced the Endowment Tax Fairness Act to raise the excise tax on certain private university endowment earnings from 1.4% to 21%. The bill applies to private colleges and universities with 500 or more students, assets exceeding $500,000 per student, and more than 50% of their student body located in the U.S. Revenue generated would contribute to national deficit reduction.
Executive Branch Activities of Interest
On Monday, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. Since then, he has signed over 40 executive orders and rescinded dozens of the Biden administration’s orders and directives. A full list of executive actions issued so far can be found on the White House website. These executive actions include:
Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity: The Attorney General (AG), in consultation with the heads of all federal agencies, within 120 days, must submit a report to the White House that identifies both a plan to deter DEI programs in the “private sector” and up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit corporations or associations, foundations with assets of 500 million dollars or more, State and local bar and medical associations, and institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars.
This EO also contains language that asks the AG and Secretary of Education to issue guidance to states and universities regarding practices required to comply with the Students for Fair Admissions decision on race-based admissions.
Protecting the American People Against Invasion: The Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall immediately review and, if needed, audit all contracts, grants, or other agreements providing Federal funding to non-governmental organizations supporting or providing services, either directly or indirectly, to removable or illegal aliens, to ensure that such agreements conform to applicable law and are free of waste, fraud, and abuse, and that they do not promote or facilitate violations of federal immigration law.
DHS Directive Rescinding ICE Guidelines for “Sensitive Areas”: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is rescinding the Biden Administration’s guidelines that prevented immigration officials from conducting raids or arrests in “sensitive” locations, including college or university campuses, churches, and hospitals.