Weekly Update 6/08/2026
Weekly Update 6/08/2026
Solano: OVW Fiscal Year 2026 Grants to Support Families in the Justice System (Justice for Families) Program (Office on Violence
Appropriations:
House education funding bill advances out of subcommittee: An $8 billion cut to the Education Department's fiscal year 2027 budget cleared a House Appropriations subcommittee last week on an 11-7 party-line vote, advancing to the full committee for a markup scheduled for tomorrow, June 9. The legislation would fund the department at $70.7 billion, a 10% reduction from current levels. Among the most significant K-12 provisions is a $1.9 billion cut to Title I grants, which support schools serving low-income students, as well as elimination of funding for English language learners and Title II-A teacher training programs. The bill does include a modest boost to the maximum Pell Grant award, raising it to $7,445, and rejects the administration's proposal…
President and Administration:
President expected to nominate Todd Blanche as attorney general: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to receive a formal nomination to permanently lead the Justice Department (DOJ), according to administration officials, a move that sets up a potentially difficult Senate confirmation fight. Blanche has served in an acting capacity since April, when former Attorney General Pam Bondi was forced out following her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigative files. Blanche's relationship with the…
President, san evidence, alleges fraud in California primary: President Trump made a series of posts on Truth Social last week, alleging widespread fraud in California's June 2 primary elections, offering no evidence to support the claims. He suggested Democrats were "stealing" the gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral races as later-counted mail ballots shifted results in a more Democratic direction. California election officials pushed back, noting that later ballots have historically skewed Democratic because Republicans tend to vote earlier and in person. Under California law, mailed ballots postmarked by…
Kennedy Center ordered to remove Trump's name after court ruling: A federal judge's order last week forced the Kennedy Center to begin erasing President Trump's name from its official materials, reversing a December board vote that critics argued violated federal law. In a three-page memo obtained by the Washington Post, the center's general counsel directed staff to restore all references to "The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts" and gave employees until June 12 to update signs, brochures, ID cards and the website. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the center's board had exceeded…
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant delays leave addiction and mental health providers in limbo: Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants for addiction treatment, mental health services and overdose prevention have stalled at the SAMHSA, leaving providers uncertain about funding with the Sept. 30 fiscal year-end deadline approaching. About a dozen grants valued at nearly $600 million have been delayed for months, including the Services Program for Residential Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women and the Treatment, Recovery, and Workforce Support Grant. Other affected funding includes grants for adult suicide prevention, certified community behavioral health clinics, medication-assisted treatment…
World Cup opens amid immigration enforcement tensions in host cities: The FIFA World Cup kicks off this week in the United States for the first time in 32 years, but immigration concerns are casting a shadow over the tournament across all 11 host cities. More than 2,000 workers at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles voted last week to authorize a potential labor stoppage unless they receive assurances that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will not conduct deportation operations at the venue. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has not ruled out enforcement actions, leaving host cities uncertain about how…
Congress:
Senate passes immigration enforcement bill after 18-hour Reconciliation vote-a-rama: The Senate passed a $70 billion immigration enforcement bill along party lines last week, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) the sole Republican to join all Democrats in opposition in a final 52-47 vote. The bill funds ICE and Customs and Border Protection through the remainder of the President's term. The most contested amendment, offered by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), would have restricted payouts from the administration's proposed $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund to law enforcement officers killed or injured during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The amendment received 52 votes in favor but required 60 to pass. The immigration bill now moves to the House, where the margins for passage…
House passes war powers resolution directing the administration to end Iran conflict: In a bipartisan rebuke of the administration's handling of a military conflict now in its fourth month, the House voted 215-208 last week to direct the President to withdraw U.S. forces from Iran or seek congressional authorization to continue. Four Republicans crossed party lines to support the measure: Reps. Tom Barrett (R-MI), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Warren Davidson (R-OH) and Thomas Massie (R-KY). Democrats invoked the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which requires Congress to consider such measures within a set timeframe, after Republican leaders…
Senate college sports bill gains White House backing: The President showed his public support behind the Protect College Sports Act last week, urging Congress to send him a bipartisan bill before the end of summer. The legislation, authored by Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) and ranking member Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), would establish a federal framework for collegiate athletics, setting limits on player transfers, banning coaches from switching schools mid-season and codifying certain names, image and likeness protections for student-athletes. The effort comes after the House's SCORE Act collapsed…
FISA Section 702 deadline: Congress has until June 12 to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which authorizes collection of digital communications from foreigners abroad but can also capture Americans' data in the process. The Senate last week rejected a motion to proceed to the extension bill 47-52, with….
California:
Becerra advances to November runoff in governor's race: Former California Attorney General and Biden Cabinet Secretary Xavier Becerra secured a spot in the November general election last week following the state's June 2 top-two primary, though the identity of his opponent remained unresolved as ballot counting continued. Becerra rose rapidly this spring from the back of a crowded Democratic field to become the frontrunner. He will face either Republican commentator Steve Hilton or billionaire…
$200 million in school air quality funds could expire without budget deal: Nearly $200 million set aside to upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in aging California public schools may be returned to utility ratepayers by year's end unless state lawmakers reach a deal to extend the program before the budget deadline. The California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program, known as CalSHAPE, has been frozen since 2024 due to budget constraints, leaving $194 million unspent. The program was created in 2020 in response to wildfire smoke and COVID-19 air quality concerns and has previously awarded…
Monterey Park votes to ban data centers, first in state to do so: Voters in Monterey Park, a city of 60,000 people near Los Angeles, approved a ballot measure last week permanently banning data centers, making it the first California city to pass such a referendum and only the second in the nation after a small Milwaukee suburb did so in April. The measure passed with 86%…
Education:
Harvard seeks to block admissions records lawsuit: Harvard University asked a federal judge last week to dismiss or pause the administration's lawsuit seeking the school's admissions records, arguing it substantially overlaps with a separate case a court has already temporarily blocked. In that related case, Massachusetts v. Department of Education, a judge halted the administration's attempt to require dozens of universities to submit six years of detailed admissions data. Harvard contends the DOJ…
Lawsuits challenged tech companies' use of student data: A growing wave of litigation is testing whether schools have legal authority to consent to student data collection on behalf of parents, a question that could reshape how education technology companies operate in classrooms. Lawsuits filed by the EdTech Law Center target companies including…
Treasury rescinds student debt collection contracts, citing procurement error: The Treasury Department reversed course last week on contracts worth an estimated $40 million assigned to five private debt collection firms to handle federal student loans in default, saying the orders were issued in error. The move came as the administration works to transfer the $1.7 trillion…
DOJ opens investigation into Arizona State University over diversity practices: Federal civil rights investigators launched a probe into Arizona State University (ASU) last week, alleging the school may have denied students equal access to admissions, scholarships, tutoring and educational support on the basis of race, color or national origin. The DOJ…