AASCU Federal Highlights – October 2025

Federal Government Shutdown Continues

At present, the Federal government remains in a shutdown after Congress failed to pass a continuing resolution to fund operations into fiscal year 2026. Inside Higher Ed has reported that colleges and universities are facing increasing disruptions to research funding, delayed grant processing, and the unavailability of agency personnel for collaboration and compliance support due to the shutdown. This will likely be worsened by the mass agency reductions-in-force (RIFs) that were issued late last week once they become effective in the coming weeks.

On Friday, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced that the Trump Administration has initiated RIFs across agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Of the impacted offices, ED has shared with Congress that 64 staff from the Office of Postsecondary Education had been laid off, as well as 137 from the Office for Civil Rights. There has been bipartisan opposition to these RIFs, including from Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) who stated that "Regardless of whether federal employees have been working without pay or have been furloughed, their work is incredibly important to serving the public."

However, an end to the shutdown does not seem to be in sight, with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon posting on social media that "millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are operating as normal. It confirms what the President has said: the federal Department of Education is unnecessary, and we should return education to the states."

It is worth noting that on Wednesday, a district court judge issued a temporary restraining order to halt ongoing layoffs and prevent more than 30 agencies from issuing any new layoff notices. AASCU will continue to closely monitor and report on the status of the shutdown and Federal RIFs.