Weekly Roundup Archive: WR 2/15/25

2/17 - DHS Announces Nationwide and International Ad Campaign Warning Illegal Aliens to Self-Deport and Stay Out (DHS; see also, Semafor article)

2/17 - U.S. Department of Education Directs Schools to End Racial Preferences (ED; direct to dear colleague letter)

2/17 - U.S. Department of Education Cuts Over $600 Million in Divisive Teacher Training Grants (ED)

2/18 - Border Crossing Data Annual Release: 2023 – 2024 (BTS; direct to data page)

2/18 - FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson Announces that the FTC and DOJ’s Joint 2023 Merger Guidelines Are in Effect (FTC; direct to chair letter; see also, DOJ guidelines page and CNBC article)

2/18 - United States Postal Service Announces Tenure Plan of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy (USPS)

2/19 - U.S. Department of Transportation Terminates Tolling Approval for New York City’s Cordon Pricing Program (DOT; direct to letter to NY governor; see also, NY governor response)

2/19 - U.S. Department of Education Cancels Divisive and Wasteful Grants under the Comprehensive Centers Program (ED; see also, CCP website)

2/19 - EEOC Acting Chair Vows to Protect American Workers from Anti-American Bias (EEOC)

2/19 - HHS Takes Action on President Trump’s Executive Orders Defending Women and Children (HHS; direct to website)

2/19 - Tax Time Guide 2025: Essentials needed for filing a 2024 tax return (IRS)

2/20 - A Snapshot of Trump’s First Month: Making America Safe Again (DHS)

2/20 - Statement from Justice Department Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle [re: removal of administrative law judges] (DOJ; see also, NYT article with links to documents)

2/20 - U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy Announces Review of California High-Speed Rail Project (DOT)

2/20 - Federal Trade Commission Launches Inquiry on Tech Censorship (FTC; see also, Broadband Breakfast article)

2/20 - Postal Service Responds to Postal Regulatory Commission’s Advisory Opinion on Service Standard Changes (USPS; see also, PRC opinion and FAQ)

2/21 - Statement regarding recent reporting about the GSA SmartPay® program (GSA; see also, Wired article)

2/21 - Social Security Announces Change to Improve Agency Operations and Strengthen Protections (SSA)

Information below is from congress.gov. Date listed is date signed into law, and the description is an abbreviated version of bill summary available on that website.

None this week

See full weekly list of Congressional hearings on congress.gov.

2/19 - Senate confirmation: Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Secretary of Labor (S HELP; see also, chair opening statement)

2/19 - Children’s Safety in the Digital Era: Strengthening Protections and Addressing Legal Gaps (S Judiciary; see also, chair and ranking member opening statements)

2/20 - Hearing to to Examine Research Security Risks Posed by Foreign Nationals from Countries of Risk Working at the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories and Necessary Mitigation Steps (S. Energy; see also, ranking member opening statement)

White House press releases and executive actions

This week's news/media reading list

Trump Trackers page

2/18 - Findings of Misconduct by Three then Senior DOJ Officials for Violating the Department’s Confidentiality and Media Contacts Policy; and by one of these Senior Officials for Violating the Department’s Social Media Policy (Revised) (DOJ; see also, 1/7/25 original via IA - note that revised report posted date and document date have not changed)

2/20 - Management Advisory: Army’s Future Soldier Preparatory Course Places Trainees at Increased Risk of Adverse Health Effects (DOD)

Note: CRS reports will soon be available in HTML, per website notice posted this week

2/19 - FEMA and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (CRS)

2/20 - Enforcement of Court Orders Against the Executive Branch (CRS)

2/20 - The Post-Enumeration Survey of the Decennial Census (CRS)

2/20 - Illicit Finance: Treasury's Initial Safeguards for Allowing Access to Information on Corporate Ownership (GAO)

2/18 - USDA Agricultural Projections to 2034 (ERS; direct to report)

2/18 - One-stop bird flu resource center fills information gaps (via Cornell; direct to website)

2/21 - Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council Charter (DHS Pubs Library)

This new section will highlight certain press releases from congressional committees. Note that committees, with chairs and ranking members, are listed/linked on this guide's press releases page if you'd like to dig deeper.

2/19 - Ranking Member DeLauro Releases Important Update on OMB Director Russ Vought’s Move to Continue Stealing from American Families and Businesses (H Appropriations, with link to OpenOMB.org)

2/20 - Ranking Member Connolly Launches Investigation into Elon Musk’s Role After White House Official States Musk Is Not a Part of DOGE (H Oversight; direct to letter to Trump and WH court filing)

2/21 - Ranking Members Raskin, Connolly, McBath, Lee Launch Investigation into Trump’s Pro-Corruption Agenda (H Judiciary; direct to letter to AG)

2/21 - Committee Leaders Unsatisfied with NASA Response Regarding DOGE Access, Demand More Information (H Science, with links to letters)