Executive Branch News
Latest from the White House (January 13)
In December, the White House released the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). Administrations have been issuing PMAs since the George W. Bush presidency in 2001. The agendas represent the President’s strategy for improving the management and performance of the federal government by identifying specific goals and metrics. Its signature feature has been a scorecard that tracks progress by each federal agency across several measures, such as human capital or budget performance. Each Administration puts their own spin on the PMA; however, they have traditionally built off their predecessor’s agendas to ensure continuity in government improvement. However, the Trump Administration’s PMA released last month reads…
ICYMI: New Executive Order Takes Aim at State AI Laws
On December 11, the White House issued its latest Executive Order (EO) related to artificial intelligence (AI), Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence. The order states its aim to allow companies to innovate by eliminating “cumbersome regulation” at the federal level through the establishment of a “minimally burdensome national policy framework for AI.” Until national standards governing AI can be established, the EO directs the Attorney General to form an “AI Litigation Task Force” responsible for identifying and challenging state laws that appear inconsistent with the federal policy. Through the evaluation the Task Force will be looking for state laws…
NSF Seeks Input on New Tech Labs Initiative—Due January 20
The National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate, has launched a new initiative aimed at accelerating “practical research with real-world applications.” Tech Labs will support research, development and innovation (RDI) teams “focused on overcoming persistent barriers to the commercialization of emerging technologies.” According to the announcement, these teams “will focus on technical challenges and bottlenecks that traditional university and industry labs cannot easily solve on their own.” NSF is seeking public input through a request for information. Comments are due January 20. In addition, NSF is hosting an informational webinar on January 14 (register here).
National Science Board Releases Anticipated Merit Review Report
As previously reported, the National Science Board (NSB), which is the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF), created a Commission on Merit Review in 2023 to take a fresh look at NSF’s current merit review criteria and make recommendations for potential improvement or modernization. After several delays, the Commission released its report on December 17. The report, Merit Review for a Changing Landscape, contains an in-depth evaluation of NSF’s longstanding review process and makes several recommendations, including: The release of the NSB report comes on the heels of new Merit Review rules that took effect December 15, 2025. Among the changes announced…
Request for Information: Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise
Before the Thanksgiving break, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a request for information (RFI) on Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise. The RFI states that advances in scientific opportunity, like artificial intelligence and quantum computing, coupled with intensified global competition “call for a comprehensive assessment of how the federal government prioritizes and structures scientific research.” The RFI is asking stakeholders to respond to 13 questions that “will inform the formulation of Executive branch efforts to advance and maintain U.S. S&T leadership.” Questions cover topics such as funding mechanisms that could improve public-private collaborations, ways to support…
ICYMI: NIH Modifies Funding Strategy, Moves Away from Paylines
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a notice on November 21 outlining a framework for “Implementing a Unified NIH Funding Strategy to Guide Consistent and Clearer Award Decisions.” The notice follows on an August statement from the NIH Director. The framework describes a need to “balance many competing and dynamic factors when determining the most meritorious research ideas to support,” such as peer review, availability of funds, and health priorities, among others. Starting with the January 2026 Councils, all NIH institutes and centers (ICs) will be expected to follow the same funding policies, including the following core tenets: In addition, the notice…
Trump Administration launches AI-focused ‘Genesis Mission’
On November 24, the White House issued an executive order (EO), Launching the Genesis Mission. It is the latest action by the Trump Administration seeking to establish American leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). Genesis Mission, according to the EO, will “unleash a new age of AI-accelerated innovation and discovery” by “[building] an integrated AI platform to harness Federal scientific datasets—the world’s largest collection of such datasets, developed over decades of Federal investments—to train scientific foundation models and create AI agents to test new hypotheses, automate research workflows, and accelerate scientific breakthroughs.” The Department of Energy (DOE) is tasked with implementing the mission with…
NSF Downsizes its Physical Location
Earlier this month the General Services Administration (GSA) announced the location of the new Alexandria, VA headquarters of the National Science Foundation (NSF). As previously reported, it was announced in July that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would be taking over the NSF headquarters building later this year. At the time, it was not clear where NSF’s 1600 employees would be relocated. NSF will now be collocated with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which is less than a half mile away from NSF’s current location. The announcement states the move is part of the Trump Administration’s…
Federal Agencies Reopen with Uncertainty
The 44-day government shutdown created chaos and uncertainty across federal agencies. Now that the government has reopened, federal employees are back to work but face new uncertainties about the future. Acting Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Brian Stone circulated a memo to staff outlining the agency’s plans for resuming its activities. According to the memo, priority will be placed on processing backpay for employees and restoring NSF’s capacity to make awards. However, the memo explains that as a result of the lapse in funding, the agency will not be able to administer all of its programs as planned. The memo…
Trump Announces Several Interagency Agreements under the Department of Education
On November 18, President Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced several interagency agreements (IAA), including partnerships with the Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). According to the provided fact sheets (see below), the Department of Education “will maintain all statutory responsibility and will continues its oversight of these programs,” but will yield other responsibilities through these partnerships. The announced IAAs include: Notably, in both the President’s Budget Request (PBR) and the House fiscal year (FY) 2026 bill, IEFLS would see its funding terminated (see COSSA’s analyses). In the provided fact sheet, it notes that…
ICYMI: Graduates of U.S. Institutions Exempt from $100,000 H-1B Fee, Questions Remain
In September, a White House proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, was issued stating, “the entry into the United States of aliens as nonimmigrants to perform services in a specialty occupation under [the H-1B visa program], is restricted, except for those aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000.” The fee applies to petitions filed after September 21, 2025. The announcement caused concern and confusion across the higher education and research communities, including whether the fee is intended for private sector employers or if it would also apply to U.S. colleges and universities who rely…
HHS Cancels USPSTF’s November Meeting
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel that makes recommendations on clinical preventive services and health promotion, has had their November meeting cancelled by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), blaming the government shutdown despite no federal employees serving on the task force. This is the second meeting cancelled this year; the task force traditionally meets three times a year to review and revise recommendations. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly indicated intent to overhaul the task force, potentially through a similar replacement of the committee members as seen with the Centers for…
Latest from the White House (October 28)
Universities Reject Trump’s Higher Education Compact As previously reported, nine of the nation’s leading research universities received letters from the White House earlier this month urging that they agree to the Administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. The Compact lays out several conditions that align with the President’s agenda and ideology. In exchange, universities that sign on would perceive preferential treatment for federal funding, including research grants. The original nine universities were given until October 20 to respond with feedback. Since then, MIT was the first university to officially reject the offer, stating “In our view, America’s leadership in science and innovation…
ICYMI: Changes Made to NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Last month, the National Science Foundation released the latest solicitation for its Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), which is typically made available in July. The solicitation states that it still intends to announce awards in April, consistent with previous years, despite the delay in releasing the opportunity. The deadline for social, behavioral and economic sciences, STEM education and learning, and psychology is November 12. The GRFP has seen its share of challenges over the years, most recently being the major reduction in awards in 2025 and greater emphasis on computer science among the awardees. Several concerns have been expressed by the research community in response to this…
Latest from the White House (October 14)
9 Universities Asked to Sign White House Compact in Exchange for Funding Earlier this month, nine of the nation’s leading research universities received letters from the White House urging that they agree to Trump Administration priorities in exchange for federal funding. The Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education lays out several conditions, such as freezing tuition rates for five years, capping international student enrollment, agreeing to the Administration’s definitions of gender, and “transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spart violence against conservative ideas.” In return, institutions that sign the compact will be guaranteed: “(i) access to…
NIH Senior Officials Terminated After Administrative Leave
Five senior officials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been officially terminated after having been placed on administrative leave earlier this year. These include: Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Diana Bianchi, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Eliseo Pérez-Stable, director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities; Shannon Zenk, director of the National Institute of Nursing Research; and Tara Schwetz, NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives. The affected institutes have been led by acting directors since March.
ICYMI: Trump Rescinds BLS Nomination
On September 30, the Trump Administration’s nomination for Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), EJ Antoni, was rescinded. As previously reported by COSSA, President Trump fired Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after the initial release of the August jobs report and accused her of falsifying the released data. While the agency has continued operations in the absence of a commissioner, BLS will not be releasing the monthly jobs report during the government shutdown (see related article). It is currently unclear who President Trump intends to nominate in Antoni’s place. Follow COSSA’s continued coverage on BLS here.
Latest from the White House (September 30)
Potential Government Shutdown is Taken to New Levels All eyes are on Congress this week as lawmakers face a potential government shut down starting October 1 (see related article). Government shutdowns, depending on how long they last, can be incredibly disruptive and damaging to federal agencies, programs, and workers, not to mention Americans who rely on them. Last week, the White House threatened to impose additional pain on the federal workforce if Congress is unable to agree to a temporary funding measure. In a recent email to agency heads obtained by Politico, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has directed…
Trump Administration Releases FY 2027 R&D Priorities Memo
On September 23, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued their annual memorandum to federal agencies outlining the Trump Administration’s research and development priorities for fiscal year (FY) 2027. The memo is intended to inform the development of agencies’ FY 2027 budget requests. The memo continues to prioritize critical and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. In addition, the Administration intends to focus on: “energy dominance,” including exploration of polar regions and oceans; national and economic security; health, including chronic diseases; and space exploration. The memo…
RFI: Education Department Seeks Feedback on Redesigning IES
On September 25, the Department of Education published a request for information (RFI) seeking feedback on redesigning the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The request follows the Trump Administration’s appointment of Dr. Amber Northern to reform the institute in May (see previous COSSA coverage). Included in the request is a list of suggested areas for comment, including how to: Comments should be submitted here by October 15.