CONGRESS

The Senate invoked cloture by a 51 to 47 vote, ending debate on Linda McMahon’s nomination for U.S. Secretary of Education. McMahon’s confirmation vote is scheduled for Monday at 5:30 PM.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) voted 14 to 9 to advance Rep. Lori Chavez DeRemer’s nomination for U.S. Secretary of Labor to the full Senate.

The House passed, H.Con.Res.14, the chamber’s fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget resolution by a 217 to 215 vote.

Eighty Members of Congress in the House and Senate wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) expressing concern with the recent terminations of contracts and letting go of ED staff.

Ranking Member of the House Education and Workforce Committee Bobby Scott (D-VA) wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regarding the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE’s) access to sensitive DOL data.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office published a report titled “Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: HHS Could Facilitate Information Sharing to Improve States’ Use of Data on Job Training and Other Services.”

ADMINISTRATION

President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Cost Efficiency Initiative.”

ED removed applications for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans and Federal direct consolidation loans from https://studentaid.gov/.

ED launched a public portal for parents, students, teachers and the broader community to submit reports of “illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning.”

ED’s Office of Financial Aid provided an update on the launch of batch institutional corrections via the Electronic Data Exchange for the 2024–25 and 2025–26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) cycles. It also shared information about the resolution of an issue that resulted in a blank Student Aid Index without a reason for rejection.

POLITICO reported that ED is offering voluntary early retirement to its employees.

The Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance to agency leaders on how to conduct reductions in force and reorganizations plans in compliance with President Trump’s Executive Order titled “Implementing The President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reopened the application portal for the 1890 National Scholars Program and extended the application deadline from March 1 to March 15.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi sent letters to officials in California, Maine and Minnesota warning them that they must bar transgender students from women’s sports or face legal measures.

DOL announced the appointment of J. Ross Stewart as Executive Secretary.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dismissed several lawsuits filed during the Biden Administration, including one against the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, for violating consumer protection laws.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced that it will be visiting ten university campuses that experienced antisemitic incidents since October 2023.

COURTS

A Federal district judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on the implementation of certain provisions of President Trump’s Executive Orders pertaining to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

A Federal district judge issued a temporary restraining order, barring ED and OPM from disclosing personally identifiable information to DOGE until March 10.

A Federal district judge ordered OPM to rescind directives that initiated the termination of probationary employees at several Federal agencies.

EVENTS

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

March 4: House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Hearing titled “Moving the Goalposts: How NIL is Reshaping College Athletics.”

March 5: House Committee on Education and Workforce Subcommittee Hearing titled “Strengthening WIOA: Improving Outcomes for America’s Workforce.”

March 5: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Full Committee Hearing titled “Nomination of Jayanta Bhattacharya to serve as Director of the National Institutes of Health.”

March 5: House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Hearing titled “Fixing Biden’s Broadband Blunder.”

March 5: House Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing titled “Labor, Health and Human Services, Education – Member Day.”

March 6: Full Committee Executive Session on the Nomination of Keith Sonderling to be U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor.