CONGRESS

The Senate confirmed Linda McMahon as U.S. Secretary of Education by a 51 to 45 vote.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted 12 to 11 to advance to the full Senate Keith Sonderling’s nomination to serve as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor.

The Senate invoked cloture by a 66 to 30 vote, ending debate on Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination for U.S. Secretary of Labor. Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation vote is scheduled for Monday at 5:30 PM.

A group of House Democrats wrote a letter to Committee on Education and Workforce Chair Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chair James Comer (R-KY) expressing concerns that U.S. Department of Government Efficiency employees are accessing confidential data on contracts and grants “without proper vetting” and are violating the rights of Federal workers at the agency.

ADMINISTRATION

President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Designating English as the Official Language of The United States.”

President Trump spoke before a Joint Session of Congress, in which he briefly touched on education-related issues, including the participation of transgender student athletes in sports; free speech on college campuses; and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

President Trump wrote on Truth Social that “All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested.”

The U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Education (ED), and U.S. General Services Administration announced the cancellation of approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University due to “the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

ED’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released an FAQ document related to its previously released Dear Colleague Letter on the applicability of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard to race-based policies and programming at the Pre-K-12 and college level.

ED announced several new appointees.

ED published a speech titled “Secretary McMahon: Our Department’s Final Mission.”

POLITICO reported that the State Department has yet to lift its freeze on funds for study abroad and international exchange programs.

POLITICO reported that 8 out of 21 people at the Office of Federal Student Aid who handled online complaints have been fired since February.

POLITICO reported that, at an Oval Office event, President Trump expressed support for Federal student loans being administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce or the Small Business Administration.

COURTS

The Supreme Court denied the Trump Administration’s application to vacate U.S. District Judge Amir Ali’s temporary restraining order enjoining the Federal government from enforcing directives pausing disbursements of foreign development assistance funds.

A group of State attorneys general issued joint guidance to schools in their States instructing that they should continue to foster Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility.

EVENTS

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

March 11: House Committee on Education and Workforce Subcommittee Hearing titled “Education Without Limits: Exploring the Benefits of School Choice.”