The Capitol Building at daybreak.
Architect of the Capitol
White House threatens layoffs over funding deal
Barring a last-minute deal, authorities funding will expire on Wednesday, launching a shutdown and attainable reductions in pressure throughout federal businesses. President Donald Trump plans to satisfy with the highest 4 congressional leaders this afternoon to debate a funding extension.
The White House Office of Management and Budget directed
businesses final week to think about RIFs as a part of their shutdown “lapse plans.” These RIFs can be along with normal furloughs and may goal packages that would not have various sources of funding and are “not consistent with the president’s priorities,” the OMB memo states. In a statement
final week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) expressed doubt that any such RIFs can be everlasting. “These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today,” he mentioned.
OMB earlier directed businesses to submit up to date lapse plans by Aug. 1, however many don’t seem like accessible on-line but. The National Science Foundation’s plan
from 2023 would have furloughed practically 80% of its workers, whereas NASA’s plan
would have furloughed greater than 90%.
If Congress passes a unbroken decision to keep away from a shutdown, interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy has directed the company to “work toward” the spending ranges within the House’s funding proposal for fiscal 12 months 2026, according to
Ars Technica. That proposal
would lower NASA’s Science Mission Directorate by 18%, in comparison with the 50% lower within the president’s price range request and near-level funding within the Senate proposal. Meanwhile, a report
launched in the present day by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) states that NASA has been implementing cuts from the president’s price range request since early summer time, disregarding congressional intent regarding funding ranges.
Scientific societies protest grantmaking government order
More than 50 scientific and medical organizations urged
Congress final week to dam key components of the grantmaking executive order
President Donald Trump issued in August, arguing that it’ll enhance politicization of federally funded analysis and add inefficiencies to the grantmaking course of. “The EO does not advance the administration’s goal of implementing Gold Standard Science,” reads the letter despatched by the societies. (Multiple AIP Member Societies signed the letter.)
The letter asks Congress to make sure that impartial peer assessment “remains the cornerstone” of scientific grantmaking, “such that the most meritorious proposals are funded in this and all future administrations.” Trump’s order states that businesses could use peer assessment strategies for grantmaking on an advisory foundation however locations final choice authority within the palms of political appointees. The letter additionally asks Congress to reject the order’s requirement that science businesses allow “termination for convenience” in all grants, warning of a chilling impact for analysis that could possibly be perceived as controversial. Finally, the letter calls on Congress to dam the order’s directive for businesses to prioritize analysis proposals from tutorial establishments with the bottom oblique price charges.
New batch of S&T nominees teed up for affirmation
The Senate is making ready to vote on a bloc
of greater than 100 nominees, which incorporates a number of science and know-how positions:
- Ned Mamula to be director of the U.S. Geological Survey;
- Neil Jacobs to guide the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
- Taylor Jordan to be head of environmental remark and prediction packages at NOAA;
- David Peters to be assistant secretary of commerce for export enforcement;
- Audrey Robertson to guide DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy;
- Catherine Jereza to guide DOE’s Office of Electricity;
- Timothy John Walsh to guide DOE’s Office of Environmental Management;
- Jacob Helberg to be beneath secretary of state for financial development, vitality, and the setting; and
- Thomas DiNanno to be beneath secretary of state for arms management and worldwide safety.
Senate Republicans confirmed
the primary bloc of practically 50 nominees two weeks in the past after modifying the chamber’s guidelines to permit confirmations in teams as an alternative of one by one. Democrats had been utilizing the outdated guidelines to severely decelerate votes on Trump’s nominees. Some of the nominees within the second bloc had superior out of committee greater than 4 months in the past.
Also on our radar
- Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is calling for
DHS to cease issuing work authorizations for scholar visa holders, arguing such employment presents espionage dangers and is incompatible with the statutory function of scholar visas. - NSF’s solicitation
for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program, issued final week, revealed that this system is now not open to graduate college students past the primary 12 months of their program. The change has drawn criticism
from excluded college students. The solicitation additionally offers college students about 50 days to submit purposes, far lower than the minimal of 90 required under NSF’s own policies.
- DOE said
final week it plans to “return” greater than $13 billion in unobligated funds initially appropriated for clean energy technologies.
- John Hill was named interim director
of Brookhaven after JoAnne Hewett introduced her choice to step down. Hewett was named director in 2023. - A decide temporarily restored funds
to UCLA from businesses together with NIH and DOD. Meanwhile, following the restoration of federal grants at Harvard, the Education Department positioned the college on heightened cash monitoring status,
requiring it to make use of its personal funds to pay out federal help to college students earlier than requesting federal reimbursement. - More than 160 organizations have asked
Congress to make use of appropriations laws to assist the implementation of the proposed FAIR model
for funding oblique prices and to dam some other adjustments to current oblique price charges. (Multiple AIP Member Societies signed the letter.) - The Trump administration eliminated
the group that compiles the four-year Global Trends report, saying it pushed a partisan political agenda.
The report predicted long-term world challenges, together with the results of local weather change.