Latest news with #federalfunding
New York Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Judge Blocks Trump's Tying of Transportation Funds to Immigration Enforcement
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Transportation from withholding billions of dollars in funding to states unless they complied with the Trump administration's demands on immigration enforcement. A coalition of 20 states, most led by Democrats, filed a lawsuit last month arguing that the administration was usurping Congress's authority over spending and using that power of the purse to to force states to adopt its policies. Judge John J. McConnell Jr., the chief judge of the United States District Court for Rhode Island, agreed with the states. In a preliminary injunction issued Thursday, the judge said that their claims 'are likely to succeed because the Defendants' actions here violate the Constitution and statutes of the United States.' He also said that the states 'face losing billions of dollars in federal funding, are being put in a position of relinquishing their sovereign right to decide how to use their own police officers, are at risk of losing the trust built between local law enforcement and immigrant communities, and will have to scale back, reconsider, or cancel ongoing transportation projects.' Rob Bonta, the attorney general of California, who is spearheading the litigation, said in a statement that President Trump was acting in an 'immoral — and more importantly, illegal' way by treating crucial funding as a 'bargaining chip.' 'I'm glad to see the District Court agrees,' he added, 'while we continue to make our case in court.' In a statement posted on X, Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, said: 'I directed states who want federal DOT money to comply with federal immigration laws. But, no surprise, an Obama-appointed judge has ruled that states can openly defy our federal immigration laws. This is judicial activism pure and simple and I will continue to fight in the courts.' Immigration law is enacted by Congress and enforced by the federal government. States rebuffing the Trump administration have said that they are limiting state or local cooperation with federal agents enforcing those laws. The lawsuit over transportation funding is one of several that states have filed seeking to block, or at least slow down, the Trump administration's initiatives on everything from emergency preparedness to diversity programs in public schools. Other areas include tariffs and mass firings at agencies such as the Education and Health and Human Services Departments. California, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Maryland are leading the transportation lawsuit. Joining them are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. All of the states have Democratic attorneys general and governors, except for Nevada and Vermont, which have Republican governors.
Fox News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
HHS gives California deadline to overhaul federally-funded sex ed program 'indoctrinating' kids
The Trump administration is giving California's federally funded sex education program 60 days to remove all references to gender identity or face potential termination of its funding. California's Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) grant has been under scrutiny by the Trump administration since at least March, when the HHS's Administration for Children and Families (ACF) requested the federally funded state-operated program send copies of its curriculum and other relevant course materials to them for review. According to ACF, the probe was initiated to ensure the state's sexual education programming is medically accurate and age-appropriate. The agency said in a Friday notice sent to California's PREP program, reviewed by Fox News Digital, that following its examination of the program's curriculum and other teaching materials, it found a litany of subjects and language within the course materials deemed to fall outside the program's "authorizing statute," in particular references to "gender ideology." As a result, ACF said it halted their review for "medical accuracy," since the content it found is not statutorily allowed in the first place. "The Trump administration will not tolerate the use of federal funds for programs that indoctrinate our children," said ACF's acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison. "The disturbing gender ideology content in California's PREP materials is both unacceptable and well outside the program's core purpose. ACF remains committed to radical transparency and providing accountability so that parents know what their children are being taught in schools." Among the materials ACF found, which it now wants to be removed, was a lesson for middle school-aged students that seeks to introduce them to the concepts of transgenderism. "We've been talking during class about messages people get on how they should act as boys and girls—but as many of you know, there are also people who don't identify as boys or girls, but rather as transgender or gender queer," the lesson states to students. "This means that even if they were called a boy or a girl at birth and may have body parts that are typically associated with being a boy or a girl, on the inside, they feel differently." ACF flagged parts of the curriculum for high school-aged students as well, which gets into topics like differentiating between "social transitioning" and "medical transitioning." The high school-aged materials also include instruction on what it means to be "non-binary" and language that tells students "gender-identity" is "essentially a social status." Teacher training materials part of the California PREP program were among other aspects of the California sex-ed curriculum that were flagged by ACF. "All people have a gender identity," the teacher training materials state. They also instruct educators to refer to people who follow the biological marker they are "assigned at birth" as "cisgender" and adds that those who are not "cisgender" may identify as "non-binary, agender, bigender, genderfluid, [or] genderqueer." In ACF's notice, the agency pointed out that under the authorizing statute that established California's PREP program, it is defined as a program designed to educate young people mainly on abstinence, contraception and avoiding sexually transmitted infections, like HIV/AIDS. "The statute neither requires, supports nor authorizes teaching students that gender identity is distinct from biological sex or that boys can identify as girls and vice versa," ACF's notice to California PREP states. "We are aware that this curricula and other program materials were previously approved by ACF," the notice continues. "However, the prior administration erred in allowing PREP grants to be used to teach students gender ideology because that approval exceeded the agency's authority to administer the program consistent with the authorizing legislation as enacted by Congress." California now has 60 days to remove all gender ideology references from its PREP curricula and other program materials, and then it must resend its materials for approval by ACF. If California fails to make the necessary changes requested by the Trump administration, the agency says it has the authority to withhold, disallow, suspend or terminate the federal grant currently funding California's PREP program.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How Trump's budget bill will impact student loans: What to know
US President Trump's "big, beautiful bill," which is currently being considered by the Senate after passing the House, will change the rules for current students relying on federal loans and grants as well as borrowers working to pay down their debt. Author and student loan expert Mark Kantrowitz joins Wealth to outline these changes and what student loan borrowers need to know. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. All week, we're giving you everything that you need to know about paying back your student loans. Today, we're breaking down all the latest policy changes under the Trump administration. Joining us now for that, we've got Mark Kantrowitz, author and student loan expert. Mark, let's start with some of the proposals in the Republican budget bill. What changes could come for borrowers if it is passed as is? Well, first of all, it repeals the subsidized Stafford Loan for undergraduate students and the Grad Plus loans for graduate students. It sets the House version of the bill sets new aggregate loan limits of $50,000 for undergraduate students, $100,000 for graduate students, and $150,000 for professional school students. The Senate version of the bill, which just dropped this morning, uh has $200,000 limit for professional school students. And it has an annual limit for the undergraduate students of for the Grad Stafford Loan of $20,500 and $50,000 for professional school students. Uh, it gets rid of uh the economic hardship deferment and unemployment deferment, and changes forbearance to nine months out of every 24 months. Uh, and it's replaces the dozen or so, uh student loan repayment plans with just two. A standard repayment plan which is more like an extended repayment plan, the repayment term depends on the amount you owe. Uh, and an income-based repayment assistance plan, which is an income-driven repayment plan that uh has monthly payments that are slightly less than the current income based repayment, but much higher than under the save repayment plan which has been blocked by the courts. And so as we're trying to think about some of the largest changes for, for what this means long, what this means longer term, are students going to end up having a more difficult time getting student loans, not just applied for, but also getting those disbursements as well. What, what's the net effect? Well, the net effect is that uh, students at higher cost colleges that need to borrow more are going to have to borrow from the private student loan programs, uh, not just from the federal student loan programs. So, about 7% of undergraduate students, up to a little bit more than half of medical school students will have to borrow private loans because federal loan limits will not be enough. Um, the grants are also going down, which may shift uh, some students from getting grants into borrowing or not going to college at all. The House bill uh, eliminates Pell Grant eligibility for students who are enrolled less than halftime. Um, and that's going to disproportionately affect students at community colleges. It also changes the definition of full-time from 12 credits a semester to 15 credits a semester, which is the equivalent of about a 20% cut in the Pell grants that the students who were previously enrolled in 12 credits will receive. That means they're going to have to borrow, or not go to college at all. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Federal judge halts Trump's plan to cut funding for sanctuary states that refuse to cooperate
A federal judge in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday, blocking the Trump administration from denying federal transportation funds to states that do not cooperate with immigration enforcement authorities. Twenty Democratic-led states brought a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's administration, challenging a new Department of Transportation (DOT) policy of withholding or terminating federal funding to any state or local government that does not comply with immigration-enforcement policies. During Trump's first day in office, he issued a sweeping executive order that would deny federal funds to "so-called sanctuary jurisdictions." U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell Jr. issued the preliminary injunction against the Trump administration's efforts on Thursday, saying it is "unconstitutional and/or unlawful" because it violates the Administrative Procedure Act. McConnell also said the Trump administration's action is ultra vires – or done beyond one's legal authority – and exceeds Congress's powers under the Spending Clause. Under the preliminary injunction, the Trump administration is "prohibited from implementing or enforcing the Immigration Enforcement Condition as set forth in the Duffy Directive," McConnell wrote. He also said the defendants are "prohibited from withholding or terminating federal funding based on the Immigration Enforcement Condition as set forth in the Duffy Directive absent specific statutory authorization." "Defendants are prohibited from taking adverse action against any state entity or local jurisdiction, including barring it from receiving or making it ineligible for federal funding, based on the Immigration Enforcement Condition, absent specific statutory authorization," the ruling continued. "The Court forbids and enjoins any attempt to implement the Immigration Enforcement Condition, and any actions by the Defendants to implement or enforce the Immigration Enforcement Condition." Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment on the matter. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, even this week, has warned "rogue state actors" who do not cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and federal immigration enforcement that they may be on the hook to clean up their own mess. Most recently, Duffy directed his comments toward California officials who have distanced themselves from immigration enforcement while riots and protests continue to break out in places like Los Angeles. Duffy has suggested political leaders work better with the Trump administration. "The USDOT will not fund rogue state actors who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement," Duffy said Monday. "And to cities that stand by while rioters destroy transportation infrastructure — don't expect a red cent from DOT, either." Duffy said in April that federal grants come with the obligation to adhere to federal law. "It shouldn't be controversial – enforce our immigration rules, end anti-American DEI policies, and protect free speech. These values reflect the priorities of the American people, and I will take action to ensure compliance," he said.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Judge blocks Trump plan to tie states' transportation funds to immigration enforcement
A federal judge on Thursday blocked Donald Trump's administration from forcing 20 Democratic-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transportation grant funding. Chief US District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, granted the states' request for an injunction barring the Department of Transportation's policy, saying the states were likely to succeed on the merits of some or all of their claims. The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic state attorneys general who argued the administration was seeking to unlawfully hold federal funds hostage to coerce them into adhering to Trump's hardline immigration agenda. The states argued the US transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, lacked the authority to impose immigration-enforcement conditions on funding that Congress appropriated to help states sustain roads, highways, bridges and other transportation projects. Since returning to office on 20 January, Trump has signed several executive orders that have called for cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that do not cooperate with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) as his administration has moved to conduct mass deportations. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally have laws and policies that limit or prevent local law enforcement from assisting federal officers with civil immigration arrests. The justice department has filed a series of lawsuits against such jurisdictions, including Illinois, New York and Colorado, challenging laws in those Democratic-led states that it says hinder federal immigration enforcement. The lawsuit before McConnell, who was appointed by Barack Obama, was filed after Duffy on 24 April notified states they could lose transportation funding if they do not cooperate with the enforcement of federal law, including with Ice in its efforts to enforce immigration law. The states argue that policy is improper and amounts to an unconstitutionally ambiguous condition on the states' ability to receive funding authorized by Congress as it leaves unclear what exactly would constitute adequate cooperation. The administration has argued the policy was within Duffy's discretion and that conditions should be upheld as there is nothing improper about requiring states to comply with federal law. The 20 states are separately pursuing a similar case also in Rhode Island challenging new immigration enforcement conditions that the homeland security department imposed on grant programs.
