Weekly Update- 8/24/2026

Weekly Update 8/24/2026 Capitol Advocacy Partners

President and Administration:

Supreme Court declines to halt Trump’s White House ballroom construction for now: On Friday, 8/21, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued a one-sentence placeholder order that gives all nine justices additional time to more fully consider whether construction of the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom can proceed. The chief justice’s order did not provide a timeline for when the court would act next, stating only that a lower-court ruling against the administration…

Congress:

Senate stopgap funding bill clears chamber, awaits House action: Senate appropriators released text on August 2 for a stopgap funding measure that would fund agencies at current levels through December 11 while temporarily blocking the administration's plan to shift federal grant approval authority to political appointees. The bill cleared its first procedural hurdle August 3 in an 89 to 4 vote, then passed the full Senate August 8 by a vote of 90 to 6, sending it to the House ahead of an October shutdown deadline. The measure excludes some military increases the administration sought and withholds new funding from immigration enforcement…

Senate confirms Hal Duncan as OMB's second-ranking official: The Senate confirmed Hal Duncan last week as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, the White House agency that oversees regulation and policy across the executive branch. Duncan had been serving in the role in an acting capacity since his predecessor was nominated to be a United States attorney. He told lawmakers this summer that he supports the administration's proposed rule to put political appointees…

Senate GOP budget blueprint fails to advance, reconciliation push may slip to 2027: Senate Budget Committee Chair Ron Johnson (R-WI) unveiled a budget blueprint on August 7 to unlock a third-party line reconciliation bill covering defense spending, farm assistance and election grant funding, but the measure failed to reach the 50 votes needed to advance before the August recess. The resolution instructed 11 Senate committees, compared with four in the House's version, and technically allowed the Senate bill to increase the deficit by up to $150 billion, though House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) indicated the eventual total…

Kids Online Safety Act clears Senate Commerce Committee, signals fight with House: The Senate Commerce Committee voted unanimously last week to advance the Kids Online Safety Act, a bipartisan measure from Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) that includes a duty of care provision requiring platforms to design products with children's safety in mind, a requirement the House-passed version omitted. The committee also approved the Youth AI…

Chatbots are doing the work of Congress with little oversight: Congressional offices have widely adopted artificial intelligence tools with minimal formal oversight, according to a Washington Post investigation. The House has purchased 6,000 Microsoft Copilot licenses, while both chambers allow staff to use chatbots including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude for drafting speeches, sorting constituent mail and preparing hearing questions. Current House…

California: 

Aisha Wahab wins Swalwell's former House seat amid ongoing federal assault investigation: California state Senator Aisha Wahab (D-CA) won the special election last week on 8/20 for the East Bay congressional seat previously held by former Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who resigned in April after sexual assault allegations surfaced against him. Wahab defeated fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez despite more than $6 million in outside spending from groups, and the two are now set for a rematch in November for a full term. Wahab's win fills the remainder of Swalwell's term through January; the Alameda…

Assembly working group pushes back on Newsom's wildfire liability plan: An Assembly working group presented its own wildfire liability priorities to the Democratic caucus, diverging from Governor Gavin Newsom's proposal in several key areas. Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-55) said the group wants to preserve insurers' ability to sue utilities…

Federal officials open antisemitism probes into two Cal State campuses: The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights opened investigations into San Jose State University and San Francisco State University over complaints that Jewish students faced hostile environments during campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza…

California lawmakers weigh letting community colleges award more degrees: Two bills before the Legislature would let community colleges offer more bachelor's degrees, challenging authority largely held by the University of California and California State University since 1960. Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-80) and state Senator…

Stricter California school phone ban dies in committee: A bill to ban smartphone use for kindergarten through eighth grade students on California school grounds died in a fiscal committee, defeated by opposition from school boards. Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi's (D-66) AB 1644 would have gone further than the state's 2024 law, which lets districts…

Health and Human Services (HHS) announces $102 million expansion of community health centers: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced $102 million in new federal funding for community health centers nationwide, calling it the largest expansion of the program since 2019. California will receive $17 million of that funding across 27 organizations, making it the largest state recipient even as it clashes with the administration over Medicaid funding. Additionally, three organizations in Puerto…

Meta heads to trial in California over child safety design claims: Meta went to trial in federal court in Oakland, California, facing a lawsuit from 29 states, including California, that accuses the company of designing Instagram and Facebook to addict children while concealing known mental health harms. State prosecutors are seeking penalties…

California adopts first-in-nation tire efficiency standard for drivers: The California Energy Commission approved the nation's first efficiency standard for replacement tires, a rule regulators estimate will save drivers about $1 billion in fuel costs annually starting in 2029. The standard requires aftermarket tires to match…

CITIES: Interior Department cuts Colorado River allocations for California and two other states: The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced last week it will cut Colorado River water allocations for California, Arizona and Nevada by about a quarter over the next two years, with Arizona absorbing the largest reduction at about a third. The cuts formalize voluntary reductions the three lower basin states had already offered and are intended to stabilize a river system…

Education:

Education Department to distribute fall K-12 funds through its own system: The Education Department will distribute fiscal 2026 Title I and Title II K-12 formula funds this fall through its own G5 grant system rather than the Labor Department's, despite an agreement shifting management of K-12 programs to Labor. The funds, $10.8 billion for Title I and $1.68 billion for…

Education Department issues guidance distinguishing educational, recreational tech use: On Thursday, 8/20, the Education Department released new guidance distinguishing between educational and recreational technology use in classrooms. The guidance says instructional technology should be judged by its impact on learning, not simply whether it involves a screen, while acknowledging concerns about excessive recreational use. Assistant Secretary Kirsten Baesler said schools are right to limit distractions…

Education Department bars race consideration in school discipline decisions: The Education Department issued guidance last week declaring that considering race in student discipline decisions constitutes unlawful discrimination under Title VI, except in rare circumstances meeting strict legal scrutiny. The guidance builds on the department's July rollback of disparate impact provisions, which previously allowed schools to address disproportionate discipline rates among students…

Proposed grant rule threatens funding certainty for schools and cities: A proposed federal rule giving political appointees authority to terminate grants that do not align with administration priorities has drawn nearly 500,000 public comments, most opposed, from education groups, city officials and law enforcement organizations. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said the rule would shift federal grants from…

Education Department proposes overhaul of college accreditation system: The Education Department outlined a proposed rule last week to reshape college accreditation, aiming to increase competition among accreditors and emphasize what it calls intellectual diversity. Critics say the changes could politicize a process that…

Health and Human Services (HHS) proposes rolling back federal standards for Head Start programs: On 8/6, HHS proposed rolling back regulations governing Head Start, the federal early childhood program serving roughly 700,000 low-income children nationally, giving the program's 1,600 providers more flexibility on staffing ratios, group sizes, and background checks. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the program serves the poorest children in the…

New federal rule cuts loan eligibility for part-time college students: A provision in the federal budget law that took effect in July of 2026 now limits how much part-time college students can borrow, linking loan amounts to enrollment intensity. More than 500,000 graduate students and up to 1.5 million part-time undergraduates could see reduced loan eligibility, according to a Postsecondary Education and Economics Research Center analysis. Representative Jahana Hayes (D-CT) raised concerns about the impact on working students and caregivers. House Education Committee Chair Tim Walberg (R-MI)…