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Senate appropriators push back on ED cuts during budget hearing

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Education Secretary Linda McMahon faced backlash from both sides of the aisle on Tuesday during a Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the President’s proposed FY27 budget. The President’s budget requests $76.5 billion for the Department of Education, a $2.3 billion decrease from the 2026 enacted level.

TRIO programs were a major point of discussion, with nearly every Senator expressing support for the programs, and questioning McMahon over proposed cuts. Several Senators also used their time to draw attention to the department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which is facing a 35% funding decrease. In March 2025, the Trump administration fired over half of OCR’s lawyers and staff and shut down seven of the twelve regional OCR offices. In a heated exchange between Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), McMahon denied responsibility for these staffing cuts, but said the department was working to hire more lawyers to work through the backlog of cases.

Several senators also highlighted the dismantling of the department, and questioned McMahon on restructuring, including the plan to shift the $1.7 trillion student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department, and moving special education to HHS. Throughout the hearing, McMahon defended the budget cuts and promised that consolidation and restructuring would deliver better results for students and families. In her testimony, she remarked:

“In November of 2024, the American people elected President Trump with a clear mandate: to sunset a 46-year-old, $3 trillion, failed education bureaucracy in Washington, DC, and return authority to where it belongs—to parents, teachers, and local leaders. Amid record-low test scores and record-high numbers of students buried in debt, Americans want results. Today, I can confidently attest that we are delivering on the vision of educational renewal that, for decades, many promised but none delivered.”

Administration Releases FY2027 Budget Proposal

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As expected, the Trump Administration released its FY2027 budget request today.  The initial set of budget documents published this morning can be found here.

Our office will continue to provide further updates as we review the documents but some of the initial proposals are as follows:

Health and Human Services

  • $111.1 billion is proposed for the entire agency, which would represent a cut of $15.8 billion, or 12.5%, below the FY2026 level.
  • For NIH, the Administration is looking to cut the agency by $5 billion, to a total base funding level of approximately $41 billion.

Dept of Education

The Education Department would see a cut of $2.3 billion, or 2.9%, below the FY2026 level, for a total of $76.5 billion.

  • The maximum Pell grant would remain the same at $7395.  Additional funds are being proposed to fill a shortfall in the program
  • Once again, the SEOG program is targeted for elimination.
  • Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) programs would be cut by $354 million
  • Title VI International Education Program would be eliminated (currently funded at $81 million)

National Science Foundation

Like last year’s budget proposal, this year’s also seeks to drastically cut NSF.  Overall, the Administration would fund NSF at $4.0 billion, a cut of $4.8 billion, or nearly 55%.

Department of War

As expected, the Administration calls for a budget of $1.5 trillion for the agency, which would represent an increase of more than $440 billion, or 44%.

One of the priorities for the department is “maritime dominance.”

NASA

NASA would seen an overall decrease of $5.6 billion, or 23%, to $18.8 billion for FY2027.

Within NASA, the Science Mission Directorate would be cut by $3.4 billion, with 40 “low-priority” missions eliminated.

Space Tech would be cut by $297 million and the Office of STEM Engagement, where Space Grant is housed, would be cut by $143 million.

Department of Energy (DOE)

Dept of Energy would see a bump of $4.8 billion, or about 10%, to a total of $53.9 billion

The Office of Science and ARPA-E would both see cuts, with Science slated for a decrease of $1.1 billion and a $150- million cut targeted for ARPA-E.

NOAA

The Administration is once looking to cut NOAA, with the FY2027 budget calling for a $1.6-billion decrease and proposing to fund the agency at $4.0 billion.

Dept of Interior

Interior is being targeted for a cut of $2.3 billion, or nearly 13%, and would receive a total of $15.9 billion in FY2027 under this budget.

Please check back here for additional updates.

Trump fires Pam Bondi as attorney general

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In an abrupt end to a tumultuous tenure as US Attorney General, President Trump has announced Pam Bondi is out and will be replaced in an acting capacity by her deputy, Todd Blanche. A permanent replacement has yet to be announced, but EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is rumored to be a likely pick.

In a Truth Social post, President Trump said Bondi would move to a “much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future.” She is the second Cabinet secretary to be ousted within the last month, following Kristi Noem’s removal as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

This change comes as President Trump’s frustration has reportedly grown over her handling of the Epstein files and various criminal investigations into his perceived political opponents, including Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, former FBI Director James Comey, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Bondi is facing a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee to testify about the Epstein files later this month. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who forced a vote on the subpoena, said in a statement that it still stands.

Trump signs $1.2 trillion funding bill

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Following the quick turnaround leaders hoped for, the House passed a spending package on Tuesday afternoon to fund most of the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year. Just hours after the House approved the bill, President Trump signed the package into law, officially ending the partial government shutdown. More details on the package can be found here.

The final vote was 217 to 214, with most House Democrats (193) voting against the bill, while 21 Republicans also opposed the measure. Speaker Mike Johnson was optimistic that the bill would pass quickly, but it faced hurdles as President Trump and Republicans pressured conservative holdouts to vote in favor.

While the package fully funds the majority of federal agencies through September, it funds DHS only through the end of next week, setting the stage for difficult negotiations over immigration restrictions. Lawmakers have ten days to reach a broader deal or another short-term agreement to avoid a funding lapse. The funding debate has been focused on ICE and Customs and Border Protection, but DHS includes other major agencies like TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard.

Partial shutdown begins

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Less than three months after a record-breaking 43-day shutdown, the government is once again facing a funding lapse. However, the partial shutdown that started Saturday has key differences from the fall shutdown, and leaders are optimistic it will be resolved quickly.

In the final hours before the deadline on Friday, the Senate voted to fund most of the government through the end of the fiscal year and give Homeland Security a two-week funding extension to give time to debate new restrictions on federal immigration raids.

The five-bill funding package passed the Senate in a 71-29 vote, but it must now pass the House again before becoming law. The House returned today and Speaker Mike Johnson plans to hold a vote as soon as possible. The $1.2 trillion package could face additional challenges from both sides of the aisle. Many House Republicans have already said they will oppose any Senate changes to what the House already passed, while many House Democrats are opposed to stopgap funding for DHS without immediate new restrictions. If the deal gets signed into law, Congress will have approved over 95% of federal funding, leaving only the full-year DHS bill left to debate.

Congress has already funded a number of services which otherwise would have a significant public impact during shutdowns, including SNAP and WIC programs, national parks, departments of Energy, Commerce, Justice, Agriculture, Interior and Veteran’s Affairs, the EPA, congressional operations, the FDA, and federal science programs.

The funding lapse affects the Pentagon and agencies including the Transportation Department and DHS, labor, housing, education and health programs, the IRS, State Department, and Treasury Department.