Weekly Roundup Archive: WR 4/19/25

4/21 - U.S. Department of Education to Begin Federal Student Loan Collections, Other Actions to Help Borrowers Get Back into Repayment (ED; see also, NBC News article)

4/21 - FAA Accelerates Critical Technology Upgrade (FAA)

4/21 - National Assessment Governing Board Approves New Schedule for Future Voluntary Assessments Under NAEP Program (NAGB; see also, Hechinger Report article)

4/22 - DHS, USCIS, DOGE Overhaul Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Database (DHS; see also, SAVE website)

4/22 - Attorney General Pamela Bondi Hosts First Task Force Meeting to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias in the Federal Government (DOJ; see also, HuffPost article)

4/22 - Commissioner Gomez Launches First Amendment Tour (FCC; see also, Ars Technica article)

4/22 - HHS, FDA to Phase Out Petroleum-Based Synthetic Dyes in Nation’s Food Supply (FDA; see also, CNN article)

4/22 - Building an America First State Department (State; direct to org chart; see also, State’s substack post | FedScoop article | my State Dept. organization page, with links to offices)

4/22 - U.S. Copyright Office Releases New Copyright Registration Toolkit (USCO; direct to toolkit)

4/23 - Statement from Matt Hartman on the CVE Program (CBP; see also, The Register article)

4/23 - Department of the Interior Implements Emergency Permitting Procedures to Strengthen Domestic Energy Supply (DOI, with links to 3 documents; see also, The Guardian article)

4/23 - Secretary of Education Statements on President Trump’s Education Executive Orders (ED; see also, Inside Higher Ed article)

4/23 - FBI Releases Annual Internet Crime Report (FBI; direct to report; see also, ABC News article)

4/23 - Statistical Summary of 24-Month Campaign Activity of the 2023-2024 Election Cycle (FEC, with links to detailed tables)

4/24 - Statement by Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell on the Conclusion of Service of DOD Advisory Committee Members (DOD; direct to memo)

4/24 - Interior Highlights Critical Mineral Prospects on the Seafloor (DOI; direct to factsheet – note: release says factsheet was published “today”, but it was actually published 4/1 & updated 4/8; see also, NPR article)

4/24 - Federal Reserve Board announces the withdrawal of guidance for banks related to their crypto-asset and dollar token activities and related changes to its expectations for these activities (FRB)

4/24 - National Archives Releases UAP Records (NARA; direct to website; see also, Popular Science article on transcribing)

4/24 - An Update on NEH Funding Priorities and the Agency’s Recent Implementation of Trump Administration Executive Orders (NEH, with link to new Statement on NEH Priorities page; see also, 4/21 Salon article)

4/24 - NIST Updates Critical Wildfire Evacuation and Sheltering Guidance (NIST; direct to report)

4/24 -  Statement by Director Sethuraman Panchanathan on his departure (NSF; see also, Science article with director’s letter to staff)

4/25 - Statement by Jules W. Hurst III, Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness on the "Restoring Good Order and Discipline Through Balanced Accountability" Memorandum (DOD; direct to memo)

4/25 - Justice Department Corrects Past Administration’s Manipulation of Legal System that Sought to Force States to Provide Surgery to Transgender Inmates (DOJ)

4/25 - US Department of Labor releases new Job Corps Transparency Report (DOL; direct to .xlsx report)

4/25 - ‘The next gold rush’: President Trump unlocks access to critical deep seabed minerals (NOAA)

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

4/21 - After Latest Hegseth Scandal, Sen. Schiff Urges National Archives to Open Investigation into Use of Non-Governmental Apps and Inclusion of Private Citizens on Sensitive National Security Communications  (Schiff; direct to letter)

4/23 - In Letter to Kash Patel, Ranking Member Raskin Demands Inquiry Into Ed Martin’s Failure to Disclose 150+ Appearances on Russian State Propaganda Outlets (H Judiciary; direct to letter)

4/23 - Ranking Member Raskin, Sens. Schiff, Booker Seek Details on DOJ’s ‘Thuggish’ Attempt to Block Former Pardon Attorney from Participating in Congressional Oversight Hearing (H Judiciary; direct to letter)

4/24 - House Democrats’ Litigation Task Force Defends Department of Education in Court (H Judiciary; direct to amicus brief)

4/24 - Oversight Democrats Demand Answers After CDC Whistleblower Exposes Trump Administration Eliminated Agency’s Entire FOIA Office (H Oversight; direct to letter)

White House press releases and executive actions

Regulations.gov

Trump Trackers

4/21 - FSA’s Plan for Soliciting and Incorporating Stakeholders’ Feedback in the 2025-2026 FAFSA Process (ED)

4/21 - Sensitive Information Exposed in GSA’s Google Drive (GSA)

4/22 - Improper Sharing of Sensitive Information on Cloud-Based Collaborative Applications (VA)

4/23 - Whistleblower Reprisal Investigation Honeywell International Inc. Minneapolis, Minnesota (DOD)

4/23 - SBA’s Actions to Address Forgiven PPP Loans Subsequently Flagged as Potentially Ineligible (SBA)

4/23 - Service Performance of Election and Political Mail During the 2024 General Election (USPS)

4/24 - AmeriCorps Disallows Subgrantee Costs Associated with Living Allowances, Education Awards, and Non-compliant National Service Criminal History Checks (Americorps; note – report dated 11/18/24 but just released)

4/24 - USPTO Should Improve Governance to Promote Effective Oversight of Its Artificial Intelligence Tools (DOC)

4/24 - Flash Report: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Inflation Reduction Act Endangered Species Recovery Efforts (DOI)

4/24 - Actions Need to Be Taken to Improve Services Provided at Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TIGTA)

4/22 - Artificial Intelligence: Generative AI's Environmental and Human Effects (GAO)

4/23 - The Decennial Census of Population and Housing: An Overview (CRS)

4/23 - Smithsonian Institution: Potential Effects of Executive Order 14253 (CRS)

4/24 - Supreme Court Considers Emergency Motion on President’s Removal Power (CRS)

4/24 - Human Rights: State Can Improve Response to Allegations of Civilians Harmed by U.S. Arms Transfers (GAO)

4/21 - NIH moving to ban grants to universities with DEI programs, Israeli boycotts (CNN, with link to source document)

4/22 - RFK Jr.'s autism study to amass medical records of many Americans (CBS News, with link to Council of Councils meeting page; see also, 4/25 follow-up article with HHS denial)

4/22 - Federal judge blocks Trump administration from dismantling Voice of America (AP; see also, source document)

4/22 - Supreme Court’s conservatives are poised to strike down elementary school policy denying opt-outs for LGBTQ+ books (CNN)

4/24 - Unauthorized Disposition of Federal Records - USCIS, founded: Records requested by a member of the public were reported by USCIS as being unrecoverable because of a corrupted hard drive. (NARA)

4/24 - The Smithsonian PURGE: Trump Team Removes Artifacts of Black Resistance (blackpressUSA)

4/24 - US federal agency texts Barnard College employees to ask if they’re Jewish (The Guardian)

4/24 - Report On National Monuments Eyed For Energy Draws Concerns (National Parks Traveler)

4/25 - Food Price Outlook updated (ERS)

4/25 - Courts Handed Trump A Slew of Legal Losses This Week (Democracy Docket, with links to documents)

4/25 - FBI Arrests Judge Alleging She Obstructed Deportation Operation (Democracy Docket, with link to source document; see also, archived FBI X tweet | DHS statement | DOJ statement)

4/25 - Trump’s Special Envoy Richard Grenell Was Once Subject of Leak Probe (FOIA Files, with source documents)

4/25 - Trump’s D.C. Prosecutor Threatens Wikipedia’s Tax-Exempt Status (The Free Press, with source document)

4/25 - Justice Department revokes Biden-era protections for reporters in leak investigations (NPR, with source document)

4/25 - Rubio eliminates office that oversees climate talks (Politico; see also, Office of Global Change website)

4/25 - DOJ memo offers blueprint to Tren de Aragua deportation plan (USA Today, with source document)

4/25 - New database tracks canceled N.S.F. research grants (University Daily Kansan; direct to database; note – database is included on my Trump Trackers page under “grants”)

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

None this week