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Politico
4 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Student visa rules threaten U.S. medical research
Presented by With Erin Schumaker and Robert King Driving The Day VISITING FELLOWS UNDER THREAT — The National Institutes of Health's visiting fellows program could be hit hard by the Trump administration's plan to review and revoke visas for international students, Erin reports. Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department would 'aggressively revoke' visas for Chinese students and expand social media vetting for international students on exchange visas. Collaboration across borders: More than 2,000 scientists worldwide participate in the program conducting basic and clinical research at the NIH campus and in field units nationwide, according to the NIH website, which notes: 'The NIH has long considered close interaction with foreign scientists in the conduct of collaborative research to be an essential ingredient in achieving its objectives.' Sixty-eight percent of postdoc fellows at the NIH were part of the visiting fellows program last year, according to the NIH fellows union. 'This underscores the vital role international researchers play here at the NIH,' Marjorie Levinstein, a union representative, told Erin. 'International scholars, including those from China, are integral to research at the NIH and play essential roles in lifesaving research.' Rubio was unclear about which visa types would be targeted, but many of the fellows enter the country on exchange visas. Pausing interviews for those visas would halt onboarding fellows, and revoking them would send active fellows home, potentially disrupting hundreds of studies. Driving scientists to work elsewhere: Combined with the other challenges international postdocs face, like slashed research funding, canceled grants and layoffs, many question whether it's worth staying in the U.S., their colleagues say. Threatening visas could encourage international scientists to take jobs in other secure countries, according to Dr. Ross McKinney, professor emeritus of pediatrics at Duke University School of Medicine and former chief scientific officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges. U.S. institutions 'at the moment can barely make promises,' McKinney said, a dynamic that could play out this summer and fall as postdocs and Ph.D. students decide where to work. 'That money may not be there because of the way the NIH is being manhandled,' he added. What's next: The ripple effect of a diminished workforce could extend beyond the fellows program. 'When we wipe out the universities' abilities to do this research by cutting back so much on a critical workforce, it's only a matter of time before the pharma industry gets really nailed, too,' McKinney said. WELCOME TO MONDAY PULSE. I'm Carmen Paun, POLITICO's global health reporter, filling in today for Kelly. Can you believe it's June already? Send your surprise reaction, tips, scoops and feedback to cpaun@ and khooper@ and follow along @carmenpaun and @Kelhoops. ICYMI: The Conversation kicked off with Dr. Oz In the premiere episode of The Conversation, Dasha Burns sat down with Dr. Mehmet Oz — now leading the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — for a candid talk on drug prices, potential Medicaid cuts and why he's getting early morning calls from President Donald Trump. Plus, POLITICO's Jonathan Martin dished on the Ohio governor's race (featuring Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel) and Kyle Cheney unpacked Trump's legal battle over 'Liberation Day' tariffs. In Congress THE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL — Congress returns this week, with the GOP domestic-policy megabill headed to the Senate, where an ideologically diverse group of Republicans is poised to have a big impact on the bill's final version. Ranging from conservative Josh Hawley of Missouri to centrist Susan Collins of Maine, the senators found rare alignment over concerns about what the House-passed bill does to Medicaid, and they have the leverage to force significant changes in the Senate, POLITICO's Jordain Carney reports. Other GOP senators, including Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Jim Justice of West Virginia, have also drawn public red lines over health care — and they have some rhetorical backing from President Donald Trump, who has urged congressional Republicans to spare the program as much as possible. Why it matters: Based on estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, 10.3 million people would lose Medicaid coverage if the House bill were to become law — many, if not most, in red states. That could spell trouble for Majority Leader John Thune's whip count. He can lose only three GOP senators on the expected party-line vote and still have Vice President JD Vance break a tie. But Kentucky Senator Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) also plans to oppose the bill if it includes raising the debt limit. 'If I vote for the $5 trillion debt [limit increase], who's left in Washington that cares about the debt?' Paul said on CBS's 'Face the Nation' on Sunday. A WARNING — Health plans and state officials warn of 'immediate instability' for the Affordable Care Act's insurance marketplaces if a last-minute change to the House GOP's megabill becomes law, Robert reports. The policy could lead to higher premiums for people who shop on the ACA's insurance exchanges and leave brokers and insurers with little time to understand how it would affect the market before open enrollment starts this fall. The House's One Big Beautiful Bill Act would restart in 2026 federal payments to insurers that President Donald Trump canceled during his first term. But the payments are restricted for plans that cover abortions. Plans are legally required to cover abortions in 12 states and the District of Columbia. Insurers worry that the policy adds more uncertainty to an already chaotic market. Other pressing changes to the marketplaces include the looming expiration of enhanced premium subsidies and stricter eligibility changes, which could create 'immediate instability,' said lead insurance trade group AHIP. 'This policy, if coupled with inaction on extending the premium tax credits, will have the opposite effect, and lead to millions of Americans facing steep premium hikes for coverage in 2026,' spokesperson Tina Stow said in a statement. HEALTH FUNDING BUDGET CUT — The Trump administration seeks to cut the HHS budget next fiscal year by a third compared with current levels. The administration seeks $94.7 billion for fiscal 2026 — a decrease of about $31.3 billion from fiscal 2025. That includes cuts to most of America's health agencies, with the NIH seemingly poised for a 40 percent cut. That alarmed several health groups and Democratic lawmakers. 'Slashing federal research funding at a time when science is revolutionizing cancer care risks leaving millions of patients without the promise and potential of life-saving breakthroughs,' Dr. Clifford Hudis, chief executive director of the Association for Clinical Oncology, said in a statement. The association, which represents cancer doctors, was reacting to a proposed cut of some $2.7 billion in the National Cancer Institute's budget. 'You might as well gift wrap the future and hand it to China,' Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat in the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement about the proposed NIH cuts. OMB's take: Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, defended the cuts to cancer research Sunday. 'It's more about the NIH, and the NIH has been a bureaucracy that we believe has been weaponized against the American people,' he told CNN. He then referred to the agency's funding of coronavirus research at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, which many Republicans allege is where the pandemic started. Three U.S. government agencies — the Department of Energy, the FBI and the CIA — claim a lab leak caused the pandemic, but that theory has no scientific consensus. Many virologists back the theory that Covid-19 was caused by a spillover of the virus from animals to people. 'It's still important to have cancer research,' Vought said, adding that the administration wanted a strong NIH. But the money shouldn't go to funding universities' indirect research costs at levels higher than billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates' foundation allows, Vought argued. GLOBAL HEALTH SLASHED, TOO — Other groups are similarly concerned about the State Department's planned cuts to global health funding by more than 60 percent, as outlined in its budget, released Friday. The $3.8 billion budget request for fiscal 2026 focuses on preventing infectious diseases and 'providing lifesaving assistance to those suffering from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, polio, and malaria,' according to the State Department's Congressional Budget Justification. PEPFAR: The budget would allocate $2.9 billion to the President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief, down from $4.8 billion this year. The administration wants to phase out the program by focusing its 'resources only on the most cost-efficient, life-saving HIV treatment, and delivery models, and developing and executing country handover plans to transition towards greater recipient government responsibility and financing,' the State Department wrote. 'Congress must reject these deadly cuts,' said Asia Russell, executive director of Health GAP, a nonprofit working on access to HIV treatment in developing countries. However, the State Department intends to back targeted prevention campaigns that include using lenacapavir, a twice-a-year HIV injection the FDA is expected to approve this month. PEPFAR and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria committed last year to securing its access for at least 2 million people over three years. But the State Department hasn't yet decided whether to continue support for The Global Fund, an international partnership. The U.S. has been its largest donor since it was founded in 2002. If the State Department decides to provide funding, the U.S. would limit its contribution to only a quarter of the fund's budget, it said. The U.S. contribution has typically been about a third of the its budget. Gavi: The State Department won't request funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which helps low-income countries procure and deploy vaccines, because the organization is 'a Swiss NGO which reports a reserve of over $7.0 billion in its most recent statutory financial statements.' Other cuts: The State Department said its budget request 'eliminates funding for programs that do not make Americans safer, such as family planning and reproductive health, neglected tropical diseases, and non-emergency nutrition.' AROUND THE AGENCIES MAKARY TALKS VAX RECS — During a Sunday appearance on CBS's 'Face the Nation,' FDA Commissioner Marty Makary tried to clarify the federal government's Covid-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women. Makary endorsed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s announcement last week that the shots would be removed from the list of recommended vaccines for the two groups. But later in the week, the CDC included the Covid vaccine on the children's immunization schedule with a note specifying that healthy children 'may' get the vaccine if their health care provider and parent or guardian believe they should. Asked why he didn't wait for the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to debate the change in recommendations, as in the past, Makary told CBS' Margaret Brennan, 'That panel has been a kangaroo court where they just rubber stamp every single vaccine put in front of them.' DR. OZ: CMS CAN HELP — Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told POLITICO that his agency can help states implement work requirements introduced in the House-passed One Big, Beautiful Bill. Attempts by some states to introduce such requirements in the past led to some Medicaid beneficiaries losing their insurance because they failed to submit required paperwork, even when they complied with the work requirement. 'If the reason not to do something that we all think we should do is we don't think we're capable or competent to do it, that's a problem,' Oz told POLITICO's Dasha Burns. He said CMS would try to help states implement the requirements once they become law. The system should be available within a year, Oz said. WHAT WE'RE READING POLITICO's Alice Miranda Ollstein looks at how the Trump administration's targeting of legal immigrants threatens the health sector. STAT covers the FDA's approval of a next-generation Covid vaccine from Moderna, with restrictions. The Associated Press reports on how 'deep cuts erode the foundations of U.S. public health system, end progress, threaten worse to come.'
Politico
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Maine rebuffs HHS order on transgender athletes
With Erin Schumaker and Ruth Reader Driving The Day MAINE VS. HHS — The governing body that oversees Maine's school sports is rebuffing efforts by HHS' Office for Civil Rights to penalize it for policies allowing transgender girls to play on women's teams. The Maine Principals' Association argues that HHS has no jurisdiction over the group and the issue should instead be resolved through the state legislature and Congress. 'MPA receives no direct or indirect federal funding, so it is not beholden to Title IX enforcement by HHS and therefore cannot be included in any future investigations or litigation,' MPA said in a Wednesday statement. The group's counsel made the same argument in a letter to HHS on Tuesday. How we got here: HHS said Monday it would give Maine 10 days to sign an agreement to bar transgender students from women's sports or risk enforcement action from the Justice Department, POLITICO's Bianca Quilantan reports. According to a statement by HHS, federal officials say the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals' Association and Greely High School, which had a transgender student compete on a women's team, violated Title IX, the anti-sex discrimination law, with their policies that allow transgender students to compete on girls' sports teams. HHS had launched a brief investigation into Maine's policies on transgender students in sports on Feb. 21 after President Donald Trump threatened Maine's federal funding and singled out Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, and her state's policies. Mills refused to say whether she would comply with his executive order barring transgender girls from girls' sports and had vowed to meet the Trump administration in court. The Maine attorney general's office said it was reviewing the proposed agreement. Greely High School did not immediately respond to requests for comment. HHS also did not respond to a request for comment. The bigger picture: President Donald Trump has issued several executive orders restricting the rights of transgender people, including a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, which has been blocked in court, and a ban on transgender girls on women's sports teams. HHS has already removed language that included transgender and nonbinary people from its policies. WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE. Happy 'Severance' finale to all who celebrate. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to ccirruzzo@ and khooper@ and follow along @ChelseaCirruzzo and @Kelhoops. Global Health INSIDE THE USAID PLANS — State Department officials have proposed overhauling the U.S. foreign aid and development structure, including curbing its focus on global health, POLITICO's Nahal Toosi and Daniel Lippman report. The plan comes as the official who oversaw the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development heads for the door, Daniel reports with POLITICO's Carmen Paun. Pete Marocco has overseen USAID while leading foreign assistance at the State Department since early February. The administration has effectively shuttered USAID during that time, with most employees laid off or put on administrative leave, while its old headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington was leased to Customs and Border Protection, a division of the Department of Homeland Security. The Trump administration has terminated most of the grants and contracts USAID managed. Marocco will continue to oversee foreign aid at the State Department. What's next for USAID? According to the plan, laid out in a document obtained by POLITICO: — USAID would be changed to the U.S. Agency for International Humanitarian Assistance and embedded within the State Department. — 'Politically oriented' programs the Trump administration pursues would be moved under the State Department. Examples of such programs include promoting democracy and religious freedom, empowering women and fighting human trafficking. Many of those efforts already exist under the State Department, but it's possible that similar efforts at USAID or other agencies and departments could be moved to State. It was not immediately clear whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio or other senior Trump administration officials have signed off on the proposal, and some changes, such as placing one agency under another, likely will require congressional authorization. Spokespeople for the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In Congress DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS — Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Pete Welch (D-Vt.) will host a forum next week to address how slashing research at the NIH could affect Americans with cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases. The event is in response to a tumultuous month at the agency and will feature former NIH leadership, researchers whose work has been impacted and patients who participated in the agency's clinical trial patients. Since early February, the Trump administration has moved to cut funding for administrative and facilities expenses at NIH-backed universities, slowed the grant process by canceling advisory council meetings, fired advisory board members and kept rank-and-file NIH employees in limbo by firing and rehiring them. 'Donald Trump and Elon Musk aren't just gutting research, they are putting cures and treatments further out of reach for Americans,' Baldwin, ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies that oversees NIH, said in a statement. 'We're bringing together patients and researchers to show this administration who is impacted by their reckless cuts.' What's next: The forum is Wednesday, March 26, at 2:30 p.m., with guests to be announced early next week. AROUND THE AGENCIES FIRST IN PULSE: AHRQ PLEAS — The former director of the Agency for Health Research and Quality defended the agency's role in improving patient care — a supposed goal of the Trump administration — in a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Ruth reports. The letter follows reporting from POLITICO that workers at the Department of Health and Human Services brace for a massive reorganization. AHRQ is among several agencies within HHS that the Trump administration is eyeing for job cuts. The letter from Robert Otto Valdez explains that AHRQ focuses exclusively on care delivery improvement, innovation and advancement and assists agencies such as CMS and the FDA. 'Its unique [research and development] contributions to the economy's health sector should not be underestimated,' wrote Valdez. HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. IN THE STATES HOCHUL ON KENNEDY: 'VACCINE SKEPTIC' — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pushed back on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's comments that vaccination is a 'personal decision' amid rising measles cases, POLITICO's Maya Kaufman reports. During her Wednesday press conference, the Democrat referred to him as 'the nation's leading vaccination skeptic' and urged New Yorkers to protect themselves and their communities by respecting the expertise of doctors and researchers on the safety of the measles vaccine, which dates to 1963 and also protects against mumps and rubella. She slammed Kennedy's 'irresponsible' claims about cod liver oil and his framing of vaccination as a 'personal' decision, warning of the havoc that measles could wreak on New York as a result of fear and disinformation. 'A personal decision is what are you going to do tonight for dinner? What are your weekend plans? What's for lunch?' Hochul said during a press conference. 'But when it comes to the overall health of our state and the people we love, it's much larger than a personal decision.' An HHS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Hochul's remarks. Why it matters: The state has confirmed four cases of measles so far this year, including three in New York City. State Health Commissioner James McDonald said they all appear to be unrelated. Names in the News Jeff Last is now senior health policy adviser for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He previously was health policy adviser for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Amy DeMaria is joining Rational 360 as managing director and co-head of the healthcare practice. She was most recently the senior vice president of communications and marketing at Inspire, an online health community. WHAT WE'RE READING The New York Times reports on how federal staffing cuts impact food safety. Reuters reports on Purdue Pharma's new bankruptcy plan for its opioid settlement. The Wall Street Journal reports on the tension between pharmaceutical and telehealth companies over the sale of knock-off weight-loss drugs.
Politico
03-03-2025
- Health
- Politico
Trump's NIH Plan B
Presented by With Erin Schumaker FUNDING THROWDOWN — A federal court has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's proposed across-the-board cut to the National Institutes of Health funding for universities' 'indirect costs,' such as facilities and administration. But even if the courts reject the plan, Trump could turn to Plan B — renegotiating the payments one university at a time, Erin reports. At stake is $4 billion, a shortfall the universities say would devastate the nation's scientific enterprise. 'Every action the administration has taken to date on this issue and in response to litigation in federal courts regarding other executive orders indicates that the administration will seek to achieve the results through other means,' said Daniel Graham, a partner at law firm McDermott Will & Emery who advises NIH grant recipients. How so? Universities that sued to block the cuts will likely prevail, partly because Congress passed a law last year to fund the NIH, which stipulated that the agency couldn't deviate from the rates it had negotiated with them. But the agreements universities have already reached with the government don't require the NIH to reimburse for costs that aren't 'allowable.' The Trump administration could find an example of poor documentation or a cost that shouldn't have been included in a university's proposal and argue it needs to review all NIH rate agreements to determine the scope of the problem. What's next: While Graham doesn't think the position is legally defensible, he said he fears a 'cat-and-mouse game where the government tries to justify the result it has achieved, which is we're not going to pay more than 15 percent, by saying that it is taking some individualized grant-by-grant approach.' WELCOME TO MONDAY PULSE. Harrison Ford dropped out of presenting at the Oscars last night after being diagnosed with shingles — a disease that 1 in 3 Americans will experience in their lifetime, according to the CDC. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to khooper@ and ccirruzzo@ and follow along @Kelhoops and @ChelseaCirruzzo. In Congress MORE ETHICS COMMITMENTS — Senate Democrats are closely scrutinizing President Donald Trump's picks to lead the FDA and the NIH, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) requesting further ethics commitments from the nominees, POLITICO's Daniel Payne reports. Both picks will face senators in their confirmation hearings this week. Warren sent a letter Sunday asking Trump's choice for FDA, Johns Hopkins surgeon Marty Makary, and NIH, Stanford Medical School professor Jay Bhattacharya, to abstain from lobbying for or joining the industries they will regulate for four years after they leave office, should they be confirmed. Key context: Democrats had also pressed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for similar commitments ahead of his confirmation hearing last month. Kennedy declined to steer clear of involvement in lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies after he leaves HHS, but he did agree to turn over to his son fees for referring clients to a law firm suing drugmaker Merck over alleged side effects from its HPV vaccine Gardasil. Kennedy has said rooting out conflicts of interest at HHS — the parent agency of the FDA and the NIH — is a foremost priority. Warren's request from Makary and Bhattacharya suggests she shares Kennedy's concerns about industry involvement in HHS. Warren's requests,shared first with POLITICO, also ask them to recuse themselves from any matter related to their former clients or employers if they're confirmed. What's next: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will question Bhattacharya on Wednesday and Makary on Thursday. AROUND THE AGENCIES A MEASLES CALL TO ACTION — HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called on health care leaders and policymakers Sunday to protect public health and make vaccines readily available amid the measles outbreak in Texas, where an unvaccinated child has died. In a Fox News op-ed, Kennedy, who has a decades-long history of questioning vaccines and promoting anti-vaccine views, said he is 'deeply concerned' about the outbreak and touted HHS' response. He said the agency is offering technical assistance, laboratory support, vaccines and therapeutic medicine to Texas health authorities. The state has reported 146 confirmed cases since late January. 'As healthcare providers, community leaders, and policymakers, we have a shared responsibility to protect public health,' Kennedy wrote. 'This includes ensuring that accurate information about vaccine safety and efficacy is disseminated. We must engage with communities to understand their concerns, provide culturally competent education, and make vaccines readily accessible for all those who want them.' As the outbreak has predominantly affected children, Kennedy said, 'All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine.' But he added that 'the decision to vaccinate is a personal one' and 'good nutrition remains a best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses.' Key context: The Texas Department of State Health Services recently told POLITICO that only one CDC employee — a field officer who's usually based in Austin — is in Texas helping with the measles outbreak response because the state hasn't asked for additional assistance from the federal agency, and the CDC can't send personnel unless the state requests help. FORMER CMS OFFICIAL STRIKES BACK — An outgoing career official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday lambasted the HHS leader carrying out mass firings across the agency. Jeff Grant, a 41-year veteran of the federal workforce who retired from CMS on Friday, sent a scathing open letter to acting HHS Chief Human Capital Officer Jeffery Anoka, who's been tasked with carrying out the Trump administration's chaotic purge of the federal workforce across the nation's health agencies. Grant, who was the deputy director for operations of the CMS division that oversees Obamacare and other programs, said in the letter that 82 of his former employees were wrongly terminated and asked that they be rehired. 'As a career federal official and senior human capital officer, you had to know that what you were doing was wrong,' Grant wrote. 'If you were ordered to write those letters, you should have refused to follow that unlawful directive.' HHS did not respond to a request for comment. Background: While Trump officials have cast the layoffs imposed by billionaire Elon Musk's unofficial Department of Government Efficiency as methodical decisions meant to spare HHS' core functions, people inside its agency have disputed that characterization and said the deep cuts have at times seemed indiscriminate. In the letter, Grant disputed the termination notice that 82 of his former employees — about 15 percent of his workforce — received a few weeks ago, where Anoka claimed they were 'not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge, and skills do not fit the Agency's current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment at the agency.' Grant said the fired staff members were in positions that align with Trump administration priorities, including a new proposed program integrity rule that targets fraud in the Obamacare marketplace. Grant also emphasized that the dozens of employees fired from his division, the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, were highly qualified, and many 'received the highest possible performance ratings.' Abortion PARDONED ACTIVISTS BACK TO WORK — Several anti-abortion activists recently released from federal prison vow to resume efforts to shut down the nation's abortion clinics, POLITICO's Alice Miranda Ollstein reports. President Donald Trump pardoned nearly two dozen people in January who had broken into and blocked access to abortion clinics. At a recent online event by the anti-abortion group LiveAction, the pardoned activists urged fellow abortion opponents to join them as they plan new protests. 'Get out there, whether it's outside the clinic or inside, or wherever you need to be to actually prevent unborn children's lives from being taken,' said Herb Geraghty, a Pittsburgh-based anti-abortion activist who entered a Washington abortion clinic in 2020 to disrupt its operations and implore patients to not terminate their pregnancies. Background: Trump's FBI and DOJ have dropped several ongoing investigations into threats against abortion clinics and issued a new memo signaling reduced enforcement going forward against such acts. Those moves indicate clinics will reemerge as a front in the battle over abortion access and a focus of a president who called himself 'the most pro-life' in history. Geraghty, who served 17 months of a 27-month sentence before receiving a pardon he attempted to reject, told POLITICO that despite being 'traumatized' by prison, his incarceration was worth it, and he remains 'committed to nonviolent direct action in service of the pro-life cause.' Several others pardoned by Trump said they plan to go into abortion clinics either by force or stealth to 'rescue' fetuses. Names in the News Alfonso Guida Jr. is joining consulting firm Healthsperien as a partner in its mental health and addiction policy practice. Guida was most recently president and CEO of Guide Consulting Services. WHAT WE'RE READING POLITICO's David Lim and Erin Schumaker report on HHS rescinding a policy requiring the agency to notify the public and take public comment about a broad swath of its work. The Associated Press' Lauran Neergaard reports on Dr. Francis Collins' retirement from leading the NIH. Reuters' Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart report on the Trump administration forcing the head of the military's health agency to retire.
Politico
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Education Department clarifies DEI guidance
Presented by the Coalition to Empower Our Future With help from Rebecca Carballo and Erin Schumaker HEDGING A BIT — The Education Department late Friday unveiled a new document that appears to soften the agency's stance on programs it could deem illegal after firing off a letter two weeks ago that threatened to pull federal funding from schools with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. — The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights Dear Colleague letter told Pre-K to higher education leaders it was illegal to consider race in all aspects of student, academic and campus life. The letter also gave them just two weeks to examine their programs that could face scrutiny. The agency also launched an 'End DEI' hotline last week to encourage the public to report school programs they believe are discriminatory. — Friday's question-and-answer document seems to be a little less sweeping than the initial guidance. The department acknowledged that is cannot control the content of school curricula and the agency said the letter does not direct schools to restrict any First Amendment rights. — Department officials said schools with programs 'focused on interests in particular cultures, heritages, and areas of the world' are not illegal if they are open to all students regardless of race. This includes celebrations like Black History Month, International Holocaust Remembrance Day or similar events, the agency said, 'so long as they do not engage in racial exclusion or discrimination.' — But schools cannot have affinity graduation ceremonies, administer or advertise scholarships and other opportunities offered by third parties based on race, or craft admissions essay prompts to require applicants to disclose their race. — The agency also said whether a school policy or program violates the law 'does not depend on the use of specific terminology such as 'diversity,' 'equity' or 'inclusion.'' Several school districts and colleges have been moving to remove the terms from their policies or scrubbing their websites. But the Education Department also said some schools have 'sought to veil discriminatory policies with terms like 'social-emotional learning' or 'culturally responsive.'' The Education Department said it would continue to update its document. IT'S MONDAY, MARCH 3. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. Let's grab coffee. Drop me a line at bquilantan@ Send tips to my colleagues Rebecca Carballo at rcarballo@ Mackenzie Wilkes at mwilkes@ and Juan Perez Jr. at jperez@ And follow us: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. Congress BIG VOTE AHEAD — Senators are poised to vote today on whether to confirm Linda McMahon to be President Donald Trump's Education secretary. She cleared a key procedural vote last week that advanced her nomination without the support of any Democrats. — McMahon will likely be confirmed by another party-line vote. But many are bracing for what will come after the vote. The fierce Trump loyalist has promised to carry out the president's agenda, including his request that she put herself out of a job by shutting down the Education Department. The Trump administration has also been working on finalizing plans to dismantle the agency through an executive order. — While Trump has been vocal about closing the department and his executive order plans have been widely reported on, many believe the administration has been waiting for McMahon to be confirmed before unveiling it. There were concerns that the order could have put McMahon in a difficult position to answer questions about the president's agenda. — The order is expected to lay out a two-part strategy for shuttering the agency. It would direct the department to craft a plan to wind down its functions using its existing administrative authority and then examine the set of laws needed to delegate the department's powers to other agencies. Then the agency would close. — But Trump and McMahon need congressional buy-in to shutter the department and reshuffle its core functions. McMahon, during her confirmation hearing with the Senate HELP Committee last month, said Congress would be involved in decisions about the Education Department's future. ALSO: Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on S. 9, the 'Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,' teeing up an initial floor vote as soon as today. The bill seeks to restrict transgender athletes from competing on women's and girls' sports teams. In January, House lawmakers passed a similar measure, H.R. 28, with some Democrats joining Republicans in the vote. Higher Ed A LONG NIH FUNDING BATTLE AHEAD — A federal court has temporarily blocked the across-the-board cut Trump wants to make to how the National Institutes of Health pays for universities' 'indirect costs,' such as facilities and administration. But even if the courts reject the plan, Trump could turn to Plan B — renegotiating the payments one university at a time, POLITICO'S Erin Schumaker reports. — That would seemingly make institutions that command the highest amounts most vulnerable. At stake is $4 billion, a shortfall the universities say would devastate the nation's scientific enterprise. The indirect funding, which is added to health research grants to help universities and other grantees cover their overhead, adds an average 27 percent to the cost of a grant, but varies widely. In early February, the NIH announced it would cap fees for new and existing grants at 15 percent. — Top research universities like Harvard, Yale and Johns Hopkins command some of the highest indirect cost rates, in part because they have specialized and state-of-the-art equipment, which is expensive. But a reduction in reimbursements will hit research universities in rural red states and urban blue ones alike. Less well-funded universities could feel the sting more than wealthy ones, even if their rates aren't slashed as much. Teacher Unions AFT's DAY OF ACTION — American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten along with educators, students and activists across the country will hold a press conference Tuesday to kick off more than 100 'Protect Our Kids Day of Action' events. The group is rallying against the Trump administration's efforts to wind down the Education Department, which they say could especially hurt low-income children, kids with disabilities and first-generation college students. In the Courts TITLE IX RULE FIGHT CONTINUES — The Victim Rights Law Center and 'Jane Doe,' a college student who has an ongoing Title IX investigation, are seeking to intervene in a case that blocked the Biden administration's 2024 rule on Title IX, the federal education law that bars sex-based discrimination. Their goal is to appeal the case, at least narrow the scope of the ruling and uphold the parts of the Biden administration's rule that oversaw sexual misconduct procedures. — In January, a federal judge in Kentucky vacated the Biden administration's rule nationwide. Since then, the Trump administration has already advised schools the Education Department will return to enforcing Title IX on the basis of biological sex. —The agency also said it will enforce the 2020 regulation from the first Trump administration that overhauled how schools handle sexual misconduct allegations, offered new rights to those accused of misconduct and required colleges to respond to formal complaints with courtroom-like hearings. — 'Reversion to the 2020 Rule once again removes protections against sex-based harassment and imposes disproportionate burdens on survivors,' lawyers wrote in the motion to intervene in the case. 'It reduces schools' responsibility to respond to sex-based harassment—in some cases requiring schools not to respond at all.' DOGE WATCH $25K TO GO AWAY — The Education Department is offering a buyout of up to $25,000 to most of its employees, according to a department-wide email sent Friday. Employees have until today at 11:59 p.m. to make a decision, our Rebecca Carballo reports. The deal comes after the Trump administration ordered federal agencies to submit plans by mid-March for laying off employees in 'large-scale reductions in force.' — Those who take the offer can stack it with retirement benefits. They will receive the equivalence of severance pay or $25,000, whichever is less, Jacqueline Clay, a chief human capital officer, wrote in an email sent on Friday afternoon. The offer would take effect March 31. Student Loans DISMISSED — Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau staff are raising the alarm after the Trump administration dropped several lawsuits that accused student loan companies and other lenders of violating consumer protection laws. — One of the cases dropped was against the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, which was accused of illegally collecting on student debt that was discharged in bankruptcy and reporting to credit agencies that borrowers weren't making payments. Others dismissed included cases against Capital One and Heights Finance. — 'These six cases are just the beginning,' said Eric Halperin, a former CFPB associate director for enforcement during the Obama administration. 'The Trump led CFPB is intent on shutting down virtually all enforcement activity and has sent a clear message that its open season on consumers.' Syllabus — It could be months before affordable student loan repayment plans return: The Washington Post— After monthlong pause, Trump admin resumes investigating disability complaints at schools: USA Today— America's college chaos: Axios— Iowa governor signs law removing civil rights protections for transgender Iowans: Iowa Public Radio— Professor, scrutinized for ties to China, sues to get his job back: The New York Times
