Today’s updates include a pause to federal layoffs, new machinations related to federal hiring, Brown joining MIT in saying “Thanks but no thanks” to the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.
The government is still shut down.
The Senate did not vote on Monday because of the federal holiday, but were unable to advance a funding bill for the ninth time today. The next vote is Thursday.
Also on Thursday, the Senate is scheduled to vote on $852 billion defense appropriations bill. The House has already passed their version and, prior to the shutdown, the Senate version had bipartisan support. A wrinkle to watch out for is that Republications have floated attaching the Labor and Health and Human Services funding bill to the defense bill if Democrats agree to advance it later this week.
A federal judge has, at least temporarily, blocked the Administration from laying off federal workers during the shutdown.
Prior to this, the President had stated that additional layoffs and program cuts would be announced this coming Friday.
OMB Director Russ Vought has stated that he believes the number of layoffs will exceed 10,000.
Stat is reporting that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has paused Medicare payments to doctors as a result of the government shutdown.
The President signed an executive order today which requires federal agencies to form strategic hiring committees to ensure hiring is consistent with each agency’s needs and presidential priorities. The committees will include political appointees.
According to Chronicle of Higher Education, the Administration has now invited every American college and university to sign the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.
Today Brown University has joined MIT in stating that they will not sign the compact.
For the most part, (largely Democrat) state representatives have discouraged public universities from signing the compact.
However, Republican representatives in Iowa sent the University of Iowa Regents a letter on Monday encouraging them to sign.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated today that she believes that the shutdown has proven that the Department of Education does not need to exist.
It continues to be a chaotic time at the CDC, which has been the site of additional layoffs during the shutdown. Around 1300 layoffs occurred last Friday, but over half of those were rescinded over the weekend.
For the moment, Harvard University appears to have recouped much of its frozen grant funding. This follows from a decision last month by a federal judge that the freeze was unconstitutional. The Administration has promised to appeal and has opened suspension and disbarment proceedings.
The President stated today that he will be strongly recommending sending the National Guard to San Francisco.
In unrelated news, Charlie Chaplin’s film The Great Dictator premiered 85 years ago today. Here’s a clip for no reason at all.