President Trump Signs Executive Order on Dismantling the Department of Education

On Thursday, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) which states, “the Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”

The EO also states, “the allocation of any Federal Department of Education funds is subject to rigorous compliance with Federal law and Administration policy, including the requirement that any program or activity receiving Federal assistance terminate illegal discrimination obscured under the label “diversity, equity, and inclusion” or similar terms and programs promoting gender ideology.”

Senate HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA)  has already indicated he will introduce a bill to eliminate the Department, but it will require 60 votes for approval in the Senate and its 47 Democratic Senators are in near lock step opposing such a measure.

Last week the Department of Education initiated a reduction in force (RIF) impacting nearly 50% of the Departments workforce. The Department’s workforce went from 4,133 workers as of Trump’s inauguration to roughly 2,183 workers.

The Executive Order may be accessed here and a White House fact sheet is here.

2025 ASAHP Scholarship of Excellence: Call for Applications

Each year, ASAHP offers a scholarship program for health professions students enrolled in its member institutions. The purpose is to recognize outstanding students in the health professions who are achieving excellence in their academic programs and have significant potential to assume future leadership roles in health professions. Each student chosen for an award will receive a $1,000 scholarship. The most exemplary Scholarship of Excellence recipient will also receive the “Elwood Scholar” award, qualifying an additional $1,000 in scholarship funds. We are now accepting applications for this year’s awards. The deadline is Friday, June 6.

More information may be accessed here.

2025 ASAHP Election: Call for Candidates

ASAHP’s annual election will be conducted this Summer. The following positions are open for the 2025 election: 

Board of Directors (three-year term) - 2 open positions
Secretary (two-year term) - 1 open position
Nominations & Elections Committee (two-year term) - 3 open positions

 The election candidate form here, including CV and headshot photo, must be submitted online no later than Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Election information is also available here. The election will open for voting on July 15, 2025 and will close on August 15, 2025.

Congress Passes FY 25 Government Funding Continuing Resolution

Today the Senate passed the House-passed Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government through September 30, the remainder of the 2025 fiscal year, by a vote of 54-46. Two members of the Democratic caucus voted for the bill, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who is retiring at the end of her current term, and Sen. Angus King (I-ME). The only Republican to vote against the bill was Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). 

Prior to the final vote on the CR, the Senate needed 60 votes to pass the procedural vote to set up final passage. That cloture vote was 62-38, with ten members of the Democratic caucus voting to advance the bill, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Sen. Angus King (I-ME). 52 Republicans voted for the bill, all but Sen. Paul. 

The bill, which was backed by President Trump, is expected to be signed by the President tonight, averting a shutdown which would otherwise begin at midnight. 

The CR largely maintains FY 24 funding levels, though it decreases non-defense spending by $13 billion (a 1.7% cut), while increasing defense spending by $6 billion (a 0.7% increase). Republicans are pursuing additional defense funding increases in its Republican only budget reconciliation bill. 

The CR does not include earmarks, and cuts funding for some accounts that had been allocated to earmarks in FY 24. House Republican Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) said, “most members would like to go back to a system, and would assume we will in ’26, where they [earmarks] would be a normal part of the process.”

On Tuesday, the House passed the CR in a 217-213 vote, with all House Republicans voting in favor except for Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), and all House Democrats voting against it except for Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME). After passing the CR, the House went on recess. The House and Senate are now both in recess, and return on Monday, March 24.

Early in the week, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced a short-term CR that would keep the government funded through April 11, which would allow Congress more time to continue negotiations to complete twelve bipartisan FY 25 funding bills. However, Republicans rejected the plan, and Democrats never fully unified around it. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Wednesday that the Republican-backed CR through September 30 did not have the votes to pass, before on Thursday deciding to support it. Schumer saw the alternative, a shutdown with no clear path to attain concessions favorable to Democrats, as the worse option.

This week’s passage of the largely Republican-backed and Trump endorsed bill has frustrated and divided Congressional Democrats. Just yesterday, House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and House leadership issued a joint statement which said, “the far-right Republican funding bill will unleash havoc on everyday Americans, giving Donald Trump and Elon Musk even more power to continue dismantling the federal government. House Democrats will not be complicit.” Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) sided with House Speaker Jeffries and with the House and Senate Democratic appropriations leadership. 

Schumer outlined his reasoning for breaking with House Democratic leadership and many of his Senate Democratic colleagues in a New York Times opinion piece and floor speech yesterday, stating “for sure, the Republican bill is a terrible option. It is not a clean CR. It is deeply partisan. It doesn’t address far too many of this country’s needs. But I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option.”

Sen. Murray’s floor remarks outlined problems with the relatively slim full-year CR bill, including concern that the CR lacks the prescriptive programmatic details, funding tables, and report language included in typical appropriations bills. 

Department of Education Initiates Reduction in Force 

This week the Department of Education initiated a reduction in force (RIF) impacting nearly 50% of the Departments workforce. The Department’s workforce has gone from 4,133 workers as of Trump’s inauguration to roughly 2,183 workers. Impacted workers will be placed on administrative leave beginning Friday, March 21.More details may be accessed here. OMB guidance on agency RIF and reorganizational plans is here. 

Department of Education Investigations of Institutions of Higher Education

Today, the Department’s Office for Civil Rights opened investigations into 45 universities for allegedly engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs. OCR is also investigating six schools for alleged impermissible race-based scholarships and race-based segregation. 

On Monday, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sent letters to 60 institutions under investigation for Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination, warning of enforcement actions.

More details are here and here. 


HPNEC Issues Statement Urging Maximum Funding for FY 25 HRSA Title VII and VIII Programs

On Tuesday, the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC), of which ASAHP is a member, issued a statement urging Congress to provide maximum funding for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing workforce development programs for fiscal year (FY) 2025 and ensure that each of these programs receives no less than its FY 2024 funding level. As Congress considers legislation to fund the government past the current March 14 deadline, the statement also acknowledges that avoiding funding lapses are critical to support the health professionals and patients who benefit from these vital programs.

The statement may be accessed here.

FASHP Letter Urges Budget Reconciliation Legislation does not negatively impact students and student loan borrowers

On Friday, ASAHP and other member organizations of the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP) sent a letter to Congress urging that any forthcoming budget reconciliation legislation does not negatively impact students and student loan borrowers, which would have substantial ramifications on access to higher education across the country. This includes the elimination of student loan programs for graduate study as well as longstanding tax deductions, which provide financial assistance to students and borrowers. Established in 1968, FASHP comprises 19 associations representing a health professions education community.

The letter may be accessed here.

ASAHP Joins Letter to the Department of Education Regarding February 14 Dear Colleague Letter

ASAHP was one of 68 national organizations which signed on to an American Council on Education letter requesting that the Department rescind its February 14 Dear Colleague letter and promulgate new guidance, as well as work with stakeholders to ensure that institutions have a clear understanding of their legal obligations in this area.

On Friday, February 14, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague letter vastly expanding the ruling in the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard that prohibited race as a factor in students’ admissions, by barring any DEI related activities on campus no later than February 28.

The coalition letter may be accessed here.

Department of Education February 14 Dear Collegue Letter

On Friday, February 14, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague letter vastly expanding the ruling in the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard that prohibited race as a factor in students’ admissions, by barring any DEI related activities on campus no later than February 28. This Dear Colleague will likely face litigation.

ASAHP Joins Letter on NIH Indirect Costs

ASAHP joined the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP) in a letter underscoring the vital role of sustained funding for Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs in supporting research activities funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

On Feb. 7, the NIH director’s office issued supplementary guidance that award recipients are subject to a 15 percent indirect cost rate. 

The FASAHP letter may be accessed here.

Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing for Secretary of Education Nominee Linda McMahon

Yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing to consider Linda McMahon’s nomination as Secretary of Education. The discussion focused on the future of the Department of Education, with Republican senators advocating for downsizing or restructuring to shift control to state and local governments, while Democrats raised concerns about the impact on federal funding and student protections.

When asked by Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA), if she agreed that since the Department of Education was created by Congress, it would need an act of Congress to be abolished, McMahon responded, “Certainly, President Trump understands that we'll be working with Congress. We'd like to do this right. We'd like to make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators could get on board with and our Congress could get on board with that would have a better functioning Department of Education, but certainly does require congressional action.” McMahon also added, “it is set up by the United States Congress and we work with Congress. It clearly cannot be shut down without it.”

While the day prior President Trump called the Department of Education a “con job” and said he’d “like it to be closed immediately”, McMahon stated that the Administration’s goal was not to defund education programs but to improve efficiency and flexibility in federal funding. 

McMahon expressed support for continuing and expanding Pell Grants, ensuring states maintain current funding levels, and honoring PSLF commitments. There was bipartisan support for career and technical education (CTE) and apprenticeship programs, as well as discussions from the Republican side on regulatory flexibility for higher education.

Other topics discussed include anti-Semitism on college campuses, Office of Civil Rights, teacher pay, Title I, IDEA, ESSA Implementation, school choice, Title IX, DEI and federal grants, teacher shortage, school sports, foreign influence on colleges/universities, and collective bargaining.

The Senate HELP Committee will hold a vote on Secretary of Education nominee Linda McMahon on Thursday, February 20. The vote will be livestreamed here. Our memo on yesterday’s hearing may be accessed here.

Cabinet Confirmation Hearings

The Senate Finance Committee and Senate HELP Committee was focused las week on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to become Secretary of Health and Human Services, with Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) still undecided whether he will support Kennedy’s confirmation. A Senate Finance Committee vote is scheduled for Tuesday, February 4 on RFK’s nomination. Following that, a vote would be needed on the Senate floor.

Not yet scheduled are confirmation hearings for DOL Secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon, with Chavez-DeRemer’s hearing likely to be set the week of February 10.  

Federal Funding Pause Rescinded

On Monday evening, OMB sent a shockwave across the federal government, issuing a two-page Memorandum to federal agencies to put a temporary pause on obligating or disbursing funds for agency grants, loans, other financial assistance programs, and open notices of funding opportunities. Social Security, Medicare, and other programs aiding directly to individuals were not included in this OMB directive. The OMB memo stated that the temporary pause “will provide the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities”.

Just before its effective date on Tuesday afternoon, a judge issued a brief administrative stay which blocked implementation of the memo. Then on Wednesday, OMB issued a new memo rescinding the funding pause. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that while the memo was rescinded, “the Executive Orders issued by the President on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments.” In a separate lawsuit, another federal judge said during a Wednesday hearing that he was inclined to halt the administration from pausing funding.