Weekly Update- 4/7/2025

Weekly Update 4/7/25

President and Administration 

Trump Announces 10 Percent Tariffs On All Imports, Additional Taxes for Some 60 Countries: President Donald Trump announced a new 10 percent tariff on all imported goods…

HHS Layoffs Hit Meals on Wheels and Other Services for Seniors and Disabled: Recent layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have significantly impacted key…

Possibility that HHS Won’t Rehire: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had stated last week that it was “always the plan” to rehire 20% of the employees…

Education Department halts final payouts of ESSER federal pandemic relief funds: On March 28th the Education Department abruptly ended extensions for spending federal COVID-19 relief funds…

23 States and DC Sue Trump Administration Over Covid-19 Funding Clawbacks: On 4/1 Democratic officials from 23 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration…

Medicaid Cuts Unpopular: New polling from President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign pollster reveals that most of Trump’s supporters oppose the Republican plan to slash Medicaid…

Trump And GOP Target Student Loan Forgiveness, Plunging Programs Into Uncertainty: Recent efforts to roll back student loan forgiveness programs, including those with bipartisan support…

California

Pelosi Slams HHS Move to Close San Francisco Office: Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the Trump administration’s plan to close a federal Health and Human Services (HHS)…

Education 

Education Department pushes schools to comply with its legal views on DEIA — or risk their federal funding: On April 3, 2025 the Education Department issued a 10-day ultimatum…

Transgender Students— Education Department unveils guidance on parental rights to review school records: The Education Department has warned state education leaders…

Trump administration investigating California law against ‘forced outing' for compliance with Trump Executive Order: The U.S. Department of Education is investigating…

HHS shutters half its regional Head Start offices: HHS has closed five regional Head Start offices as part of a major workforce reduction, sparking concern among lawmakers…

Supreme Court Lets US ED Temporarily Suspend Grants to Teachers: The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to allow the Trump administration to temporarily suspend $65 million in teacher-training grants…

Weekly Update- 3/31/25

Weekly Update 3/31/25

Appropriations

GOP Leaders Plan to Punt on Major Fights in Trump Agenda Bill: Republican leaders are moving forward with President Donald Trump’s agenda on tax cuts, border security..

Trump Cancelling Grants Based on Shifting Agency Agendas: In November 2020, the Trump administration made regulatory changes allowing the government to cancel federal grants mid-project…

President and Administration 

Trump Officials Working to Strip FEMA’s Role in Disaster Recovery by Oct. 1: Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi L. Noem and other Trump administration officials have discussed reducing FEMA's role…

Long Waits, Waves of Calls, Website Crashes: Social Security is Breaking Down: The Social Security Administration is struggling to serve millions of retirees and disabled Americans…

Bill Nullifying D.C.’s ‘Sanctuary City’ Law Advanced by House Republicans: A House committee advanced a bill requiring D.C. to comply with federal immigration policies, including ICE detainer…

MWRP: Trump Administration Plans to Freeze Family-Planning Grants: The Trump administration is moving to freeze $27.5M in federal family-planning grants, primarily affecting Planned Parenthood…

MWRP, LFCV, LHE/CHCA, Cities: 10,000 Federal Health Workers to Be Laid Off: The Trump administration announced the layoff of 10,000 employees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)…

California

MWRP, LHE: Bill Advances to Guarantee Emergency Abortion: A proposal to ensure Californians can access emergency abortions passed its first legislative hearing on Tuesday, as national debates over abortion care intensify. Authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta…

Department of Education Layoffs Already Delaying Millions in Funding to California, Superintendent Says: California’s education department faces a shortfall of tens of millions in federal funding from layoffs..

Education 

E-rate’s Future Hangs in the Balance as Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Universal Service Case: The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in FCC v. Consumers’ Research…

District Leaders Predict Staff Reductions if Medicaid Funding is Cut: A national survey by Healthy Schools Campaign found that 80% of school district staff anticipate layoffs of health personnel…

AFT, School Districts Sue to Block Education Department Dismantling: The American Federation of Teachers, two Massachusetts school districts, and other plaintiffs are suing President Trump…

Education Department Revokes Waivers for California Universities to Use Federal Funding for Undocumented Immigrants: The Department of Education announced it is revoking waivers that allowed colleges in California and Oregon…

Trump Ed Department Cuts Staff from ED English Language Office: President Trump’s administration declared English the official U.S. language while eliminating nearly all staff from the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA)…

Public Safety & Justice Update- 3/28/2025

Public Safety & Justice Update 3/28/2025 Capitol Advocacy Partners

Supreme Court allows Biden-Era Regulations for Hard-to-Trace Ghost Guns

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Biden administration's regulation of ghost guns, untraceable firearms often assembled at home from kits purchased…

Orange County Sheriff Deputies Won’t  Enforce Immigration, Despite Sanctuary Disagreements

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes criticized California's sanctuary law, SB 54, which prevents local law enforcement from sharing inmate immigration status with federal officials..

Trump’s DOJ to Investigate County Sheriff’s Department Over Gun Permit Waits

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the L.A. County Sheriff's Department (LASD) over excessive fees and long delays in processing concealed carry permits…

What the Data Says About Gun Deaths in the U.S.

In 2023, nearly 47,000 people in the U.S. died from gun-related injuries, marking one of the highest years for gun-related deaths on record, though a slight decrease…

Younkin Amasses Record Number of Vetoes as He Takes Aim at Gun Control

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) vetoed 158 bills passed by Virginia's Democratic-majority General Assembly…

State Democrats Wary of Newsom’s Plan to Fund CHP, DMV with Pollution Dollars

California lawmakers expressed concerns over Governor Gavin Newsom's proposal to use cap-and-trade and pollution reduction funds to backfill the state’s Motor Vehicle Account…

California Bill Would authorize Effort to Increase Pay for Incarcerated Firefighters

After Los Angeles was struck by historic wildfires earlier this year, celebrities were drawn to stories about incarcerated firefighters who were on the front lines of the disaster…

A Womb-To-Prison Pipeline

Many young people in the foster care and juvenile justice systems face a cycle of hardship that often leads them from one institutional setting to another, struggling with trauma…

Weekly Update-3/24/2025

Weekly Update 3/24/25

Appropriations

Forecasters: US Will Breach Debt Ceiling By October Unless Congress Acts: The Bipartisan Policy Center predicts that the U.S. is likely to default on its $36 trillion national debt between mid-July and early October unless…

President and Administration 

Trump’s TikTok-Oracle Deal Could Break The Law - But Nobody Can Stop Him: President Donald Trump’s potential deal to save TikTok by involving Oracle while allowing ByteDance, its Chinese parent company…

Trump’s Pardons Spark Fresh Fights Over Abortion Clinic Safety: Abortion rights advocates are intensifying efforts to protect clinics from growing threats as the administration…

MWRP: Hawley Has Pointed Questions for Dr. Oz On Abortion, Trans Care: Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley (R - MO) has urged Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), to…

RFK Jr. Extends Opioid Public Health Emergency: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. renewed the public health emergency on opioids, extending the declaration for 90 days…

California

California Democrats Are in Control. So Why Are They Worried?: California Democrats are shifting focus to issues like energy bills and zoning for new housing, signaling a change from their previous ambitious…

Dem Rivals to Kamala Harris: Hurry Up and Decide: Democratic candidates vying for California's governorship are growing impatient with Vice President Kamala Harris' delay…

University of California Ends Diversity Statements in Faculty Applications: The University of California (UC) will no longer require diversity statements from faculty candidates, following threats from the administration to cut federal funding for schools…

California Lawmaker Proposed Massive Raise for School Board Members: A new bill in California, Assembly Bill 1390, proposes a significant raise for school board members, potentially increasing their salaries by up to five times..

Education 

Trump’s Remarks on Movement of Student Loans to SBA, Special Education to HHS, Raises Concerns: ​On 3/22 President Donald Trump made news when he said that his Administration would transfer the federal student loan portfolio, valued at $1.7 trillion…

Trump defends his education overhaul with GOP governors: Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at dismantling the Department of Education, a move he says will return…

As Trump Moves to Shutter Education Department, GOP Governors Clamor for Next Prize: Funding Flexibility: Republican governors expressed interest in gaining greater flexibility…

New Survey Finds Medicaid Cuts Would Devastate School Staffing, Services: School leaders are concerned about proposed Medicaid cuts, warning they could severely impact K-12 schools’…

After Gutting Staff, Education Department Remains Quiet on Future of NAEP Test: Massive layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education has cast serious doubt on the future of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)…

Weekly Update- 3/17/2025

Appropriations

‘Full of despair’: Senate Dems Look to Regroup After Losing Shutdown Fight: Senate Democrats are reflecting on their recent defeat in government funding negotiations…

President and Administration 

Trump Decries His Prosecutions, Vows to Remake Justice Department: At an event at the Justice Department on Friday (3/14), Trump vowed to end the "weaponization"…

After Judge Blocks Alien Enemies Act, White House Claims Nearly 300 Already Deported: A federal judge on Saturday blocked the President’s use of the Alien Enemies Act..

White House Seriously Considering Deal from Oracle to Run TikTok: Oracle is in advanced talks with the White House to run TikTok, though concerns persist about the role of its Chinese founders…

Poll: Voters Like the Idea of DOGE, but Elon Musk and Activities Raise Red Flags: Voters are divided on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its efforts to tackle government…

Judge Orders Sweeping Rehiring of Fired Workers at 18 Federal Agencies: A second federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of probationary federal employees fired at 18 major agencies…

California

Newsom's Effort to Court the Right with Podcast Draws Liberal Backlash: Governor Gavin Newsom, distancing himself from his liberal past, launched a podcast to engage right-wing figures…

Katie Porter Enters the Ring: Katie Porter, the former Orange County representative known for her anti-Trump stance, is now aiming for California’s governorship, hoping to leverage a new wave of "resistance"…

2026 California Gubernatorial Election

• Democratic Party Declared

• Toni Atkins, former President Pro Tempore of the California Senate, Former Speaker of the California State Assembly

• Stephen Cloobeck, Founder of Diamond Resorts

• Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor of California (will withdraw if Harris runs)

• Katie Porter, Former U.S. Representative from California’s 47th Congressional District (will withdraw if Harris runs)

• Tony Thurmond, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction

• Antonio Villaraigosa, Former Mayor of Los Angeles

• Betty Yee, California Democratic Party Vice Chair, Former State Controller

• Michael Younger, Vice President of Calbright College, Former Deputy Secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Workforce Development Agency

• Republican Party Declared 

• Chad Bianco, Riverside county Sheriff-Coroner

• Brandon Jones, Marketing Agency Founder

• Sharifah Hardie, Business Consultant

• Jimmy Parker, Former Judge

• Leo Zacky, Vice President of Zacky Farms and candidate for governor in 2021 and 2022

Cities: EPA Launches Attack on ‘Holy Grail’ of Climate Science – and Dozens of Rules: President Trump’s environmental chief, Lee Zeldin…

Cities: State Democrats Push Back on Newsom’s Budget Plans for CARB: California lawmakers pushed back against several of Governor Newsom’s budget proposals for the state’s air regulator, including a plan to grant the California Air Resources Board (CARB)…

California Schools Chief Aims to Guarantee Funding for Teacher Housing: Superintendent Tony Thurmond is supporting legislation to create the first guaranteed state funding for educator housing, addressing the state’s ongoing teacher shortage exacerbated by the housing crisis. According to a 2024 UCLA and UC Berkeley report…

USF Pulls Out of California Forest Cleanup Program Targeting Illicit Cannabis Grows: The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has informed California's Department of Fish and Wildlife…

Education
How Education Department Layoffs Hit Student Loans, Testing, Civil Rights: The administration's 50 percent staffing cuts at the Education Department triggered disruptions in services…

Students at Military Bases Worldwide Rebel Against Trump DEI Crackdown: Teachers have removed Pride flags and banned posters promoting "gender ideology"…

Judge Blocks Federal Attempt to Cut Teacher Training Grants: A U.S. District Court judge in Maryland blocked the administration’s attempt to cut $250 million…

Trump Freezes $1 Billion in Food Aid Given to Local Schools and Food Banks: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cut over $1 billion in funding intended to help schools and food banks…

Student Well-Being, School Choice, Higher Ed Top Governors’ Priorities: In their 2025 State of the State addresses, governors proposed increased funding for school-based mental health services…

Update on Pending Section 504 Lawsuit: A lawsuit is working its way through the federal judiciary that has the potential to change how schools, public entities…