CONGRESS

The Federal government officially entered a period of a lapse in appropriations, often referred to as a government shutdown, after Congress failed to pass a continuing resolution to fund the Federal government into fiscal year 2026.

The Senate passed S.Res.412, which authorized the en bloc consideration of several Trump Administration nominees, including U.S. Department of Education (ED) nominees. On Monday, the Senate is presently scheduled to further consider the nominations provided for under S.Res.412.

ADMINISTRATION

ED and the U.S. Department of Labor released contingency plans for a lapse in appropriations. The plans can be found here and here, respectively.

Sec. McMahon released two additional supplemental priorities for ED’s discretionary grants: Meaningful Learning as well as Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness.

The White House sent letters to nine universities yesterday outlining a compact that, if agreed to by the schools, would give them priority in receiving Federal funding and fewer constraints on administration and overhead costs.

The Federal Communications Commission voted 2 to 1 to rescind regulations permitting the E-Rate program to subsidize Wi-Fi on school buses and give students and library patrons mobile hot spots.

COURTS

The Supreme Court temporarily allowed the Trump Administration to freeze approximately $4 billion in foreign aid.

A Federal district court judge upheld the Biden Administration’s gainful employment rule. The Trump Administration had argued in court for this outcome.

EVENTS

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

October 9: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Full Committee Hearing titled “AI’s Potential to Support Patients, Workers, Children, and Families.”