Hello and welcome to another edition of The First 100 Days, Inside Higher Ed’s weekly roundup of news from the Hill to the Oval Office. I’m your host, Katherine Knott, the news editor, and it’s Day 53 of Trump’s second term..
Congrats on making it through the first eight weeks —and what a week number 8 has been. Buckle up, as we have a longer newsletter than usual.
This week we learned that the president doesn’t need an executive order to dismantle the Education Department after all, just a willing secretary. On Tuesday evening, Linda McMahon took a sledgehammer to her agency, laying off nearly 2,000 employees.
Gone are several regional offices that investigated civil rights complaints and reviewed colleges’ applications for new programs or mergers. The layoffs also eliminated whole offices at the agency such as the International and Foreign Language Education office. Others, like the National Center for Education Statistics, remain but NCES has just five—yes, five—employees left. The Office of Federal Student Aid took the biggest hit, which some experts worry could jeopardize the FAFSA. One staffer told us that no one is left to oversee the system that transfers IRS data into the financial aid form.
The department promises us that core functions won’t be affected by the cuts. But safe to say, higher ed folks are deeply skeptical of that claim and looking for a plan.
Now, in other news, just after we sent last week’s newsletter, the Trump administration said it was cutting $400 million from Columbia University—an unprecedented move that officials say will affect every corner of the university. But nearly a week after that stunning announcement, it’s still unclear what grants and contracts are affected. Professors and postdocs expect layoffs and research to cease.
Adding to Columbia’s woes, the administration also arrested a former student and revoked his green card because of his activism in support of Palestine. That move has spurred fears among international students and warnings from civil rights lawyers. Trump himself said that the arrest was “the first of many” and that he expected “every one of America’s Colleges and Universities to comply” with efforts to deport students.
On tap for next week: From our federal policy reporter, Jessica Blake, who is writing most of our Trump stories these days, the big question heading into next week is whether the federal government will shut down. The two parties have until 11:59 p.m. tonight to iron things out.
We also continue to follow the various lawsuits against the Trump administration. We added another two to our tracker this week. And late Thursday night, the American Association of University Professors and National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education accused the Trump administration of not complying with a court order that blocked parts of the president’s executive orders banning DEI. More to come on that next week, I’m sure.
So that’s a wrap for Week 8. If I were a math person, I would make a Pi Day pun here. But my brain’s baked. (Get it?)
Anyone else exhausted and nervous to check their push notifications? No? Just me. OK. Well, if news breaks over the weekend, you can find the latest at InsideHigherEd.com. In the meantime, I’ll be gallivanting around New York City trying to soak up some sunshine and prepping for March Madness. As always, feel free to email me at katherine.knott@insidehighered.com.
Have a good weekend!
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