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News and updates

Midterms Countdown Begins

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Campaigns around the country are in the final sprint with seven days to go before Election Day. With all of the House and a third of the Senate up for re-election, the results will shape the final two years of Trump’s second term.

Polling suggests Democrats will gain wins nationwide, but this race has an unusual number of tossups, especially considering recent redistricting efforts. Republicans also have a considerable financial advantage, outspending Democrats in what is shaping up to be the most expensive election cycle in U.S. history.

In Congress, the House is expected to flip, but the margin could be close. Flipping the Senate was once seen as a long shot, but several unexpected Senate races have narrowed over the last few months. To win back the Senate, Democrats need to protect all their current seats and flip four Republican-held ones.

Races to watch:

In Washington state, all House members are running for re-election, apart from Rep. Dan Newhouse who is retiring. Read more on the Washington state primaries here.

Washington’s District 3 has drawn national attention for being a key battleground district which could determine control of the House. Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez is running for reelection for the seat that she first narrowly flipped in 2022. State Sen. John Braun has President Trump’s endorsement and will be competing against Gluesenkamp Perez in a district that Trump won in 2024. Last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Chehalis to campaign with Braun.

 

Stay tuned for live updates on Election Day results and analysis on how the outcomes will shape Congress.

NSF Acting Director Announces Plans to Leave the Agency

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National Science Foundation Acting Director Brian Stone and Acting Chief of Staff Rebecca Keiser will leave the NSF, according to an internal agency staff memo that was released today. Stone plans to leave at the end of the year and Keiser at the end of the month. The last time the NSF had a Senate-confirmed director was April 2025, before Sethuraman Panchanathan resigned as grant terminations expanded in the first few months of the Trump administration. Since then, Acting Director Stone has guided the agency through a tumultuous period with thousands of grant terminations, firing of the National Science Board, and OMB changes.

President Trump’s nomination of Jim O’Neill to be the next director has been stalled since March. Without a Senate-confirmed director, many have argued that the NSF has been directly managed by the White House and OMB.

White House announces $6 billion in new initiatives at Golden Age of Science Summit

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Last week, the White House hosted a “New Golden Age Summit” convening scientists and tech leaders to discuss OSTP’s new report. Multiple initiatives were announced at the summit, including:

  • DOE announced twelve Phase II Genesis Mission project awards totaling $159 million, including one awarded to the University of Washington
  • Eleven companies pledged $2.4 billion to support DOE’s Genesis Mission, including $1 billion from Nvidia, $500 million from AMD, and $200 million from OpenAI
  • DOE announced a $100 million Genesis Mission Graduate Fellowship program for accelerated four-year PhDs in AI and science or engineering
  • NSF also announced a six-year integrated bachelor’s-to-PhD program called NextGen Workforce and launched two $33 million Grand Research Challenge competitions
  • NIH, DOE, and Biohub launched a $1.8 billion virtual biology initiative to develop AI models of cells and biological systems
  • NASA and DOE announced expanded cooperation on nuclear technologies, DOE identified eight scientific problems for quantum priority applications, and DOW announced $350 million in quantum computing initiatives

Senate Passes Major College Sports Bill

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The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act last night, legislation which will create the first federal framework governing college athletics and address major issues including eligibility, revenue-sharing, and NIL deals. The bill passed 77-22.

Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell introduced the bill in May, alongside Senators Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Chris Coons (D-DE). It has been at the center of intense negotiations between lawmakers, leaders of the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences, and numerous other college sports stakeholders.

Three amendments were adopted last night before final passage:

  • Requiring colleges and conferences to disclose amounts over $600 received from a foreign adversary, state-owned enterprise, or sovereign wealth fund (Tim Scott)
  • Raising the bill’s cap on conference size from 19 to 20 institutions (Ashley Moody and Richard Blumenthal)
  • Specifications that the bill would not preempt state laws related to certain injuries (Tammy Baldwin)

Sen. John Kennedy offered an amendment to cap ticket costs for college sporting events, which was defeated.

The bill now moves to the House, where the earliest it could be considered is November 9. Trump, who created a White House college sports task force last year, has said he would like to sign it before the end of the calendar year.

Click here for a section-by-section description of the bill. A fact sheet prepared by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is below:

Appropriators Push Back on Pocket Rescission

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Late Friday, the Trump administration announced plans to cancel $810 million in funds for health and education programs, only days before the new fiscal year begins on Thursday. This “pocket rescission” is a maneuver used shortly before the end of the fiscal year, which attempts to take back money that has already been appropriated by Congress. The same tactic was used last year by the administration to cancel $4.9 billion in foreign aid funds. The Government Accountability Office has called pocket rescissions illegal.

Top appropriators from both parties have accused OMB of acting illegally by intentionally withholding funds for months. In a statement, Chair of Senate Appropriations Committee Susan Collins said “any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law. I will work with my colleagues to address these illegal actions.”

 

On the Hill this week:

  • The Senate is scheduled to vote on the Protect College Sports Act (S. 4668) at 5:30pm today, which will set new rules for name, image, and likeness issues. It is expected to pass with wide bipartisan support.
  • Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions pending nominations on September 30, including Nicole Saphier to be surgeon general, Timothy Westlake to be assistant HHS secretary for mental health and substance use, and Mary Lazare to be assistant HHS secretary for aging