CONGRESS

Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Ranking Member Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) seeking answers to questions about the effects of the Department’s recent Reduction in Force (RIF).

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and group of 37 Democrat Senators wrote a letter to ED expressing their opposition to the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department, including through its RIF.

H.R. 1048, the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions Act (DETERRENT Act), is scheduled to be considered by the House Rules Committee on Monday at 4 PM, indicating that the bill will likely be considered on the House floor next week. The DETERRENT Act relates to reporting requirements by institutions of higher education on foreign gifts and contracts.

Senator Murray, Senator Baldwin, Senator Sanders, and other Senators wrote a letter to ED requesting answers about the cancellation of over $600 million in Federal funding for teacher preparation grants.

ADMINISTRATION

President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities.” The related fact sheet can be found here.

President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Additional Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.”

President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.”

President Trump made a statement that he intends to transfer ED’s student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration effective immediately as well as move ED’s “special needs” and nutrition programs to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron sent a letter to higher education stakeholders regarding functions and operations that will continue at ED despite the RIF. Acting Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Hayley Sanon sent a letter to State chiefs similarly describing K-12 functions and operations that will continue at ED.

ED announced that more than 8 million 2025–26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms have been successfully submitted and processed.

POLITICO reported that several teams under ED’s Federal Student Aid office have been brought back after initially being cut during the agency’s RIF.

COURTS

The 4^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Trump Administration’s request to lift the nationwide preliminary injunction blocking implementation of portions of Executive Orders 17151 and 17173.

A Federal district judge temporarily blocked the Trump Administration from deporting a professor at Georgetown University due to “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media.”

A Federal district judge ruled in favor of AACTE (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education), the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) and the Maryland Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE) to reinstate Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED), Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) and Teacher and School Leader (TSL) Development grants of AACTE, NCTR and MACTE members.

As part of its compliance with a temporary restraining order issued last week, ED reinstated 65 fired probationary employees that will return to the agency on administrative leave.

Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith E. Sonderling was sworn in as Acting Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and provided a statement indicating his and the Administration’s priorities for the agency.

EVENTS

Penn Hill Group plans on providing clients with a summary of the following events next week:

March 25: House Education and Workforce Subcommittee Hearing titled “The Future of Wage Laws: Assessing the FLSA’s Effectiveness, Challenges, and Opportunities.”

March 26: House Financial Services Subcommittee Hearing titled “A New Era for the CFPB: Balancing Power and Reprioritizing Consumer Protections.”

March 26: House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Hearing titled “The World Wild Web: Examining Harms Online.”

March 27: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Full Committee Hearing titled “Antisemitic Disruptions on Campus: Ensuring Safe Learning Environments for All Students.”