This week’s Federal Update covers Congressional and Executive Branch activities of interest in Washington, D.C.
Congressional Activities of Interest
Floor Activity
This week, only the Senate was in session. The Senate voted to confirm Scott Bessent to be Secretary of the Treasury and Sean Duffy as Secretary of Transportation. Late last week and over the weekend, the Senate confirmed the nominations of John Ratcliffe as CIA director; Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary; and former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary.
FY25 Appropriations
The four leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees met on Thursday night to begin negotiations on FY25 appropriations. According to reports, negotiators seek to finalize a topline agreement by the end of January. Government funding is set to expire on March 14.
Bills Introduced
S.108 - Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) introduced this bill, which would make members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and their family members ineligible for F (student) and J (exchange visitor) visas.
S.225 - Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced the End Unaccountable Amnesty Act to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The bill would require Congress to approve all TPS designations with the terms of those designations capped at 12 months.
S.227 - Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) introduced the Protect Equality and Civics Education (PEACE) Act aimed at restricting the use of funds under the Department of Education’s American History and Civics Education program. The legislation prohibits the use of these funds for curriculum, teaching, or counseling that promotes or compels a "divisive concept," as outlined in the Department of Education’s proposed priorities.
Protecting Life on College Campus Act (Bill number not yet assigned) Introduced by Sen. Steve Danes (R-MT), the bill would prohibit “federal funds from going to any college or university with a campus health clinic that provides abortions and chemical abortions to students and faculty.”
H.R.713 - Representative Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) introduced a bill that would impose financial penalties on institutions of higher education with high percentages of students who default or make insufficient payments on federal student loans.
Hearings
On Thursday January 30, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing titled, “The Malign Influence of the People’s Republic of China at Home and Abroad: Recommendations for Policy Makers.” See a recording of the hearing here.
Executive Branch Activities of Interest
Executive Order on Foreign Aid Results in Work Stop on United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Grants
On his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order entitled, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” which directs a review of existing U.S. government foreign aid programming to ensure alignment with the administration’s “America First” strategy. On January 24, the Secretary of State’s office issued guidance on the implementation of this Executive Order on USAID-sponsored programs, ordering a pause on all global operations, including grant-funded work by third parties. Additional memos clarified that all USAID programming was to be halted for up to 90 days until each program is reviewed for strategic alignment with the administration’s priorities.
Executive Order Combatting Campus Antisemitism
On January 29, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled, “Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism.” The EO:
- Requires that within 60 days, the head of each agency must submit reports to the President with strategies to combat antisemitism.
- The report submitted by the Secretary of Education must include an analysis of all Title VI complaints related to Antisemitism — pending or resolved after October 7, 2023 — within the Department’s Office for Civil Rights.
- The Secretary of State, Secretary of Education, and Secretary of Homeland Security must include their recommendations for familiarizing institutions with the grounds for visa ineligibility that occur by breaking the law, to ensure that reports about international students and staff who break the law lead to investigations and, if warranted, removal of such individuals from the US.
- In President Trump’s fact sheet about the order, he noted his plan to “quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses."
OMB Memorandum Temporarily Halts Federal Grant and Loan Disbursements; Rescinds Freeze Wednesday
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum on Monday, January 27, pausing all grant, loan, and financial assistance disbursements by federal agencies, effective January 28, 2025, at 5:00 PM. The pause aimed to align agency programs with the administration’s recent executive orders and priorities. The directive did not apply to direct grants and loans to individuals such as Title IV student aid.
However, on Wednesday afternoon January 29, OMB issued a new communication rescinding the January 27 memo containing the agency freeze. The rescission came after widespread opposition to the memo, including lawsuits, one of which resulted in a federal judge temporarily blocking the pause from going into effect on January 28. Despite this recission, the White House announced on Wednesday that the “federal funding freeze” remains in “full force and effect” to give agencies time to review programs for their compliance with President Trump’s agenda.
Laken Riley Act Signed into Law
On January 29, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law. 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.