Weekly Update 7/27/2026

Weekly Update 7/27/2026 Capitol Advocacy Partners

President and Administration:

Court filing shows political motive behind energy grant cuts: Federal officials have admitted in court filings that the administration canceled more than $7.5 billion in clean energy grants last year based solely on whether the state had voted Democratic in 2024, not on any programmatic or budgetary review. The Energy Department confirmed that all but one of the 284 terminated grants sat in states carried by Kamala Harris and represented by two Democratic senators, while similar…

Congress:

House passes stopgap as Senate, White House pushes list of funding exceptions: The House passed a government funding bill last Tuesday (7/21) that extends funding for federal operations through Dec. 4 in a 220 to 205 party line vote, months ahead of the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) holding his narrow majority together on a measure Republicans say is meant to put Senate Democrats on defense ahead of the midterms. The House bill is a straight…

House adopts budget framework for a 3rd reconciliation package, but Senate GOP resistance mounts: House Republicans narrowly adopted a budget framework last Wednesday in a 216-to-214 vote, a key step toward using reconciliation to pass a $95 billion package funding the military, farm aid, and $10 billion in election security grants tied to the administration's stalled elections overhaul. Speaker Mike Johnson and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought had worked to rally holdouts beforehand, promising members a fourth reconciliation bill after the midterms, a pitch Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) called "not that compelling" and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) rejected outright. Fiscal conservative Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) ultimately voted yes despite the framework…

House ties agenda to elections overhaul push: House Republicans last week attached pieces of the SAVE America Act, the administration's stalled elections overhaul, to four separate pieces of “must-pass” legislation in an effort to force Senate action: the annual defense policy bill, a $95 billion budget plan for the war in Iran, legislation restricting stock trading by lawmakers, and a bill funding the State Department and foreign aid programs. These are four distinct bills…

California: 

Covered California insurance premiums to jump almost 10% next year: Health insurance plans through Covered California will rise by an average of 9.9% next year, the marketplace announced last Tuesday, with regulators citing rising prescription drug costs alongside federal policy changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut some immigrants from the marketplace and added paperwork hurdles for financial assistance. Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman said the increases…

Trump admin approves California high-speed internet plan after delays: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration approved California's $1.86 billion plan to expand high-speed internet access late last week, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced Monday, capping years of delay tied to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. In a statement, the CPUC said it will use funding to deliver the greatest value for California through a “competitive process” that “prioritizes reliable, affordable service to unserved and underserved communities,” including remote rural…

California sues Trump over emergency funding rules that pressure states on elections: 24 Democratic led states, including California, sued the administration last Thursday over new conditions attached to Department of Homeland Security emergency preparedness grants, marking the state's third such challenge and its 79th lawsuit against the administration overall. Attorney General Rob Bonta said the new rules would require states to verify voter citizenship through a federal system…

Education: 

Education Department ends disparate impact enforcement: Federal civil rights enforcement in schools is narrowing after the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights rescinded disparate impact provisions from its Title VI regulations, ending investigations into policies that unintentionally disadvantage minority students, such as…

House panel advances bill defining sex under Title IX: School policy on Title IX enforcement could shift nationally after the House Education and Workforce Committee advanced the Title IX Clarification Act last Tuesday in an 18-to-15 party-line vote, defining sex under federal education law as based on biological sex at birth. The bill follows a Supreme Court ruling…

Colorado officials knew ‘public Christian school’ was religious before it opened, but didn’t stop it: Colorado’s handling of Riverstone Academy, a Christian school that received public-school status in 2025, highlights uncertainty over how states can prevent religious schools from accessing public funding. State education officials identified concerns over Riverstone’s faith-based curriculum before it was granted a public school code, internally recommending that the school be…

Weekly Update 7/20/2026

Weekly Update 7/20/2026 Capitol Advocacy Partners

President and Administration:

Health department rescinds $10 billion funding freeze on five Democratic states: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rescinded a $10 billion freeze on child care and social services funding for five states, including CA and NY, after repeated setbacks in a lawsuit challenging the pause. The agency sent letters to California, New York, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota voiding measures it had used since January to limit the states' access to federal child care and social services dollars, and it no longer requires the states to provide data the department said it needed to verify benefit eligibility. A federal judge had already…

Administration orders ICE to pause most vehicle stops after two fatal shootings: The administration ordered ICE officers to halt most vehicle stops nationwide after agents fatally shot two men in separate incidents, one in Houston and one in Biddeford, Maine, both during attempted traffic stops. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) had urged Homeland…

Congress:

Judge rules OMB cannot retroactively cancel grants under new agency rules: U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani granted summary judgment for 20 states, including California and New York, along with three governors, and the District of Columbia in their lawsuit challenging the administration's cancellation of billions of dollars in already promised federal grant awards, a final ruling on the merits rather than a procedural win. Talwani found that federal law does not…

House Republicans advance $95 billion reconciliation framework: House Republicans last week unveiled a budget framework for a $95 billion reconciliation package along party lines, approved by the House Budget Committee by Republicans the next day. The framework directs $60 billion to the House Armed Services Committee and $13 billion to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for defense and intelligence programs, $12 billion to the House Committee on Agriculture for farm aid…

Senator Johnson inherits Budget Committee gavel: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is set to become chair of the Senate Budget Committee following Sen. Lindsey Graham's death, inheriting a role that puts the longtime fiscal hawk at the center of Republicans' effort to pass their third-party line reconciliation bill. Sen. Johnson, known…

Senate Democrats block $1.15 trillion defense authorization bill over Iran war concerns: Senate Democrats defeated a motion to advance the annual National Defense Authorization Act on a 50 to 46 vote Tuesday, falling short of the 60 votes needed after the bill became entangled in a partisan dispute over defense spending levels and the resumed conflict with Iran. The legislation, which passed the Senate Armed Services Committee last month, would provide…

Sen. Darline Graham will seek full term to her late brother’s seat: Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) announced she will run for a full six-year U.S. Senate term after being appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to temporarily fill the seat of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Her decision follows…

California: 

California sues five cities over alleged housing plan failures: California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced lawsuits Thursday against five cities– Half Moon Bay, Turlock, Ridgecrest, Costa Mesa, and Calexico– for allegedly failing to update zoning rules or new housing. State law requires local governments to set aside adequate land for growth every eight years, but these cities…

The University of California system sets timeline on SAT requirement decision: The University of California's Academic Senate agreed to deliver a recommendation on reinstating standardized testing in admissions by next summer, days after a faculty panel rescinded an earlier two-year timeline for the review. If the Board of Regents acts on that recommendation, a decision…

Education: 

Workforce Pell Grant program launches as states race for approval: The administration's new Workforce Pell Grant program officially launched today, 7/20, allowing low-income students to use Pell Grants for short-term training programs, and states racing for federal approval. Pennsylvania has already advanced…

States sue to block cuts to school mental health grants: Maine and 14 other states, including California, sued the administration to block cuts to a $1 billion school mental health grant program, the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program, arguing the administration is defying a December court order by planning to terminate…

House panel advances 10 bills to break up Education Department: The House Education and Workforce Committee advanced 10 bills to codify the administration's plan to shift Education Department programs to other federal agencies, including moving federal student aid to Treasury and K-12 programs to Labor. Chair Tim Walberg (R-MI) called the department's 1979…

Labor secretary nominee grilled over special education transfer plan: Labor secretary nominee Keith Sonderling, former Deputy Secretary of Labor and then Acting Secretary following Chavez-DeRemer’s resignation, faced sharp questioning at his Senate confirmation hearing over the administration's proposal to move special education oversight…

Administration limits how long international students can stay in the US: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finalized a rule Friday limiting international students to four years in the country before they must file for an extension, ending the "duration of status" system that has been in place since 1978. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin…

Weekly Update- 7/13/2026

Weekly Update 7/13/2026

President and Administration:

21st Century ROAD to Housing Act becomes law sans Trump's signature: A bipartisan housing bill took effect this week after the constitutionally mandated 10-day window for presidential action closed at midnight. The President scheduled to sign the bill at a Capitol Hill ceremony last month but abruptly canceled the event, later writing on Truth Social that he would not sign the bill in protest over the Senate's failure to pass the SAVE America Act, a voting regulations…

Ceasefire collapse and renewed strikes push U.S.-Iran conflict: After overnight U.S. strikes on Iranian military sites in retaliation for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the President declared on July 8 that the ceasefire and peace process with Iran appeared finished, calling Iranian leaders "liars" and describing negotiations as "a…

Administration reconstitutes the national climate research office under a climate science skeptic: A federal program responsible for the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment has been rebuilt under new leadership after the administration dismantled it last year, but the choice of director is drawing scrutiny from the scientific community. Matthew Wielicki, a former University of Alabama geochemist who has publicly suggested climate scientists fabricate data to…

Congress:

Proposed OMB grant rule would give political appointees control over federal grants: A sweeping rule proposed by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would give political appointees new authority over federal grant decisions across every federal agency, drawing bipartisan opposition. The guidance would also become binding across all federal agencies once finalized. The rule would let appointees approve or reject discretionary grant awards, terminate any grant…

House GOP factional standoff persists as leaders search for a path to reopen the floor: House Republican leaders return this week to the same factional standoff that halted floor business before the July 4 recess, with no clear resolution in sight. A procedural rule failed 224 to 198 after 14 Republicans joined Democrats, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), in a rebellion…

Graham's death and McConnell's hospitalization leave Senate Republicans without key leaders: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who chaired the Senate Budget Committee, died July 12 of an aortic dissection, days after reaching an agreement with the administration on a Russia sanctions package. Graham had also served as the administration's most reliable Senate liaison, helping pass last year's reconciliation bill and this year's immigration enforcement measure, and was preparing to lead a third reconciliation package this fall. Graham’s younger sister, Darline Graham Nordone, will serve the remainder of the late senator’s term in Washington, after both President Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) expressed support for the appointment. A special candidate…

California: 

Administration advances controversial Mojave groundwater pumping project: A federal permit clearing the way for a decades-long effort to pump groundwater from the Mojave Desert advanced Thursday after the Bureau of Land Management approved a 50-year right of way for Cadiz Inc. to convert an existing 220-mile natural gas pipeline into a water pipeline on federal land. The approval also authorizes seven pumping stations, and Cadiz says the pipeline could initially move up to 25,000 acre feet of water annually…

California lawmaker waters down bill to repeal campus protest rules after opposition: Assemblymember Sade Elhawary, a Democrat who represents the 57th district which includes parts of Los Angeles, agreed to significantly scale back a state bill that would have repealed 2024 rules requiring California's public universities to address behavior creating a hostile environment on campus, after facing strong opposition at a Senate Education Committee hearing. The amended version, which advanced on Wednesday…

Education: 

Education Regulatory and Congressional Efforts

Education Department moves to shut down Equity Assistance Centers through proposed rule: After multiple failed attempts, the Education Department is pursuing a proposed rule to rescind regulations for Equity Assistance Centers (EACs), which provide desegregation and civil rights technical assistance to schools, districts, and school boards under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Four EACs operate nationwide and received nearly $7 million in fiscal year 2024, serving 24 state education agencies…

Education Department outlines regulatory agenda on civil rights, student loans, and special education: The administration released an update to its 2026 Unified Agenda, outlining proposed Education Department regulations expected this year. This is a process that agencies engage in on a regular basis, though the timing of this most recent set of proposals by ED was outside the traditional cycle. The agenda states an agency’s intended areas of focus for regulatory or de-regulatory actions but does not commit the agency to a particular timeline or set agenda. Key topics that ED indicated they will focus on in the new notice include finalizing rules defining sex…

House chair introduces 10-bill package to permanently transfer Education Department functions: Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), who chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee, introduced a 10-bill package that would permanently codify the administration's interagency agreements by transferring Education Department programs to other federal agencies. The bills would move federal student aid to Treasury; career, technical, and adult education and K-12 and higher education programs to Labor…

Education Department launches crackdown on sexual misconduct by school staff; issues Dear Colleague letter: A new initiative from the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) targets sexual misconduct by staff in K-12 schools, with Secretary Linda McMahon issuing a Dear Colleague letter warning schools receiving federal funding must shield students under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and Title IX or risk losing federal dollars. The department is…

Education and the Courts

Supreme Court asked to take up K-12 admissions case that could reshape diversity policies nationwide: A parent group is asking the Supreme Court to review a Maryland case challenging Montgomery County Public Schools' admissions policies for magnet STEM programs, filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation. The petition asks the court to clarify whether 14th …

Transgender students drop NH lawsuit after Supreme Court upholds sex sports separation: Two transgender girls in NH withdrew the first lawsuit against the administration's ban on transgender athletes in girls' sports, citing the Supreme Court's June 30 ruling in Little v. Hecox and the personal cost of continued litigation. The court held six…

Education and Public Programs

Federal scholarship tax credit creates uncertainty for microschools & afterschool programming over eligibility rules: A new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act allows taxpayers to receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit, up to $1,700, for donations to nonprofit scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs), with scholarships available to students at public, private, or religious schools. Recent Treasury Department guidance states that homeschool programs qualify only if they are “treated as a school under state law,” creating uncertainty for microschools and learning models that operate outside…

GAO report shows that Students with disabilities are spending more time in general education classrooms: A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that 42 states and the District of Columbia increased the share of students with disabilities in general education classrooms between the 2012-13 and 2023-24 school years, driven…

Free school meals at risk as SNAP and Medicaid cuts reduce eligibility: A July 7 analysis from the Center for American Progress warns that cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) could jeopardize schools' access to the Community Eligibility Provision…

Weekly Update 6/29/2026

Weekly Update 6/29/2026

Appropriations: 

Partisan divide deepens as House Appropriations Committee clears $1.1 trillion Pentagon funding bill: The spending committee last week completed action on all 12 annual government funding bills, advancing a $1.1 trillion fiscal year 2027 Pentagon spending measure in a 34-27 party-line vote, the first time in recent memory that Pentagon spending has drawn a complete partisan split. No Democrats supported the legislation, with opposition stoked by Republican amendments to permanently rename the Defense Department as the Department of War, block funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, and restrict gender-affirming care for…

President and Administration:

Education Department's civil rights office closures create enforcement gaps: The administration’s closure of seven of the Education Department’s 12 regional Offices for Civil Rights (OCR) branches, combined with Secretary Linda McMahon’s decision to transfer special education oversight to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and civil rights enforcement to the Department of Justice (DOJ), is raising concerns that students with disabilities and those facing discrimination will have fewer protections. The two offices have long collaborated on joint guidance, including a 2022 document on informal removals of students…

Supreme Court's parental notification ruling reshapes district policies and triggers federal investigations: The Supreme Court's ruling in Mirabelli v. Bonta, issued earlier this term through the court's emergency docket without oral arguments, is reshaping school district policies and federal investigations. The decision found that policies limiting parental notification about students' gender transitions may violate constitutional parental rights. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 18 temporarily blocked California's AB 1955, the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today's Youth (SAFETY) Act, which prohibited districts…

Supreme Court hands Trump sweeping authority: The Supreme Court today struck down a nearly century-old precedent that had allowed Congress to protect the heads of independent federal agencies from presidential removal without cause. The 6-3 ruling, written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., overturns Humphrey's Executor, a 1935 precedent that insulated leaders of roughly two dozen agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Communications Commission and the Securities…

Congress:

House Republican leaders fail to advance Reconciliation 3.0: House Republican leaders last week failed to secure agreement on a third party-line budget reconciliation package, known as "Reconciliation 3.0," after the House Budget Committee rejected leadership's pitch to advance a budget resolution. The standoff centered on demands from Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) that any resolution be fully offset "dollar for dollar" and "year for year" in current savings, without accounting…

OMB overstepping authority?: House Ways and Means Ranking Member Richald Neal of Massachusetts demanded that OMB Director Vought and HHS Secretary Kennedy withdraw a new regulation to increase the involvement of political appointees in reviewing federal grants. Neal wrote that the rule would "destabilize the bedrock of federal discretionary grantmaking and independent research--and is an affront to scientists, researchers, the Constitution, and the American people…

California: 

Watchdog report finds Education Department staff cuts compromised legally required functions: Federal auditors last week found that a 40% staff reduction at the Education Department in early 2025 appears to have eliminated units performing legally required functions. The reduction eliminated suboffices in 15 of the department's 17 offices, terminated 90 grants totaling $504 million, with teacher training and mental health programs most impacted, and canceled 129 contracts worth $1.3 billion. Impacted grants…

Newsom signs $351.7 billion budget, including education governance overhaul: California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week reached a budget agreement with legislative leaders on a $351.7 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2026-27, finalizing a deal that prioritizes austerity, builds reserves, and advances a major restructuring of state education oversight. The budget, which covers October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027, includes $400 million in new housing and homelessness funding, more than $200…

Education: 

Federal judge strikes down Education Department rule excluding education from graduate borrowing definition: A federal judge last week struck down an Education Department rule excluding from the "professional" degree definition governing graduate student borrowing limits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The law sets higher annual borrowing caps for professional degrees ($50,000) than for other graduate degrees ($20,500). The department had limited the definition to 11 mostly doctoral-level…

Research links immigration enforcement to student absenteeism: New research from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University links immigration enforcement to increased student absenteeism, finding that students born outside of the U.S. were about two percentage points more likely to be absent after the President's 2025 inauguration, with 11th graders up…

States fall short on federal special education targets: More than half of U.S. states and territories failed to meet annual implementation targets for federal special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), according to state determinations issued June 18 by the Education Department. Only 20 states received a "meets requirements" rating for IDEA Part B services for students ages 3-21, while four states, Maine, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont, were labeled "needs…

Weekly Update 6/22/2026

Weekly Update 6/22/2026

Appropriations: 

OMB nominee aligns federal grants with President’s priorities, defends controversial funding tactics: Hal Duncan, the President’s nominee for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), told lawmakers during two Senate confirmation hearings last week that the administration will use federal grant approval processes to block funding for what it deems divisive ideologies and that he cannot commit to foregoing controversial pocket rescission tactics. Duncan said political appointees will control approval of more than one trillion dollars in annual federal grants to state and local governments, nonprofits, and educational…

President and Administration:

Education Department cuts student loan interest rates for autopay borrowers: Only 40% of federal student loan borrowers actively repaying loans currently use automatic payments, down dramatically from more than 80% pre-pandemic, prompting the Education Department to announce, on June 18, a one percentage point interest rate reduction for those enrolled in autopay effective July 1 through June 30, 2028. Borrowers must enroll in autopay by Sept. 30 to qualify if not already enrolled; those already using the payment method receive an additional 0.75 percentage-point discount on top of their existing 0.25 percentage…

Congress:

Senate Republicans show little urgency on third reconciliation bill despite President’s push: Multiple Senate aides last week said any third reconciliation bill would likely be led by the House, signaling little GOP appetite in the upper chamber despite the President’s push for a $350 billion package combining military funding with conservative policy victories. House Republican leaders and committee chairs have spent weeks discussing a new party-line measure, but the Senate has taken no concrete…

Rep. Bonamici seeks to impeach Education Secretary McMahon over program transfers: A day after the administration announced it would move programs for students with disabilities to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and civil rights enforcement to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) announced June 17 she will introduce a resolution to impeach Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Bonamici accused McMahon of making false statements to Congress…

Senate set to pass bipartisan housing affordability bill with investor restrictions: Legislation that would stop institutional investors from buying more than 350 single-family homes is now advancing toward Senate passage as part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a comprehensive bipartisan package designed to increase housing supply and reduce home costs. The bill also enables banks to increase investments in affordable housing and eliminates the outdated “chassis rule” that required…

California: 

Legislature passes budget with record 127 billion for schools and colleges: With higher revenue projections than Gov. Gavin Newsom expected, the California Legislature passed a state budget on June 18, providing several billion dollars in additional spending for TK-12 and community colleges for state FY2026-27. The Legislature's budget allocated a record $127 billion for schools and community colleges, including larger-than-required cost-of-living adjustments, $700 million for school kitchen upgrades or additions, $300 million for career and technical education, and additional funding for refugee assistance and homeless students. Chief among unresolved issues is Newsom's plan to withhold $3.9 billion in education funding until revenue projections from artificial intelligence stock…

Newsom-backed proposal: Revenue measures generate up to $5 billion annually: Revenue-raising trailer bills approved by the California State Senate on June 18 would extend a tax on managed care organizations, tighten corporate tax break caps, and expand a digital software tax, together generating up to $5 billion in ongoing annual revenues The 40-member Senate voted 27 to 9 on the measures, the minimum required for tax proposals, with Senate Budget Chair John Laird saying the changes would help prevent…

Education: 

Supreme Court declines to hear student speech cases, Alito signals future action: Justice Samuel Alito urged the Supreme Court in a June 15 dissent to revisit student free speech protections after the high court declined to hear two cases involving student expression in school districts. The first case involved an Indiana high…

Lawsuit challenges Education Department's discontinuation of English learner grants: The Southern Poverty Law Center, National Education Association, and researchers sued the Education Department on June 3, challenging the discontinuation of 28 grants from the National Professional Development grant program designed…

Education Department transfers special education and civil rights functions to other agencies: The Education Department announced June 16 it is moving its office overseeing special education and employment programs for adults with disabilities to HHS under a new interagency agreement. DOJ will assume the Education Department's civil rights office, student privacy…

Trump Admin. issues waiver on school accountability, funding: The Department of Education approved its broadest Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) flexibility waiver to date, marking the first time the administration has allowed a state to modify federal high school accountability requirements. The waiver, awarded to Indiana…

The Department of Justice (DOJ) launches investigations into 43 school districts over LGBTQ+ curricula: DOJ announced this month that it is investigating 43 school districts across California, Illinois, and Michigan regarding how they teach sexuality and gender identity and whether they provide parents the option to opt their children out of lessons that conflict with religious beliefs. The four California districts under investigation are the Graves Elementary School District…