Reviewing 2025 Federal Activity

January 9, 2026

As part of the Office of Government Relations’ ongoing work to track federal policy developments affecting the Duke community, this update provides a high-level review of legislative and administrative activity over the past several months. The summary below builds on earlier OGR coverage and highlights more recent developments across budget and appropriations, research, student aid, immigration, tax, and broader policy engagement.

Budget and Appropriations

Last fall marked the longest shutdown in U.S. history, lasting 35 days. Congress ended the shutdown by enacting a short-term funding package that extends most government operations through January 30, 2026, while providing full-year funding for the Agriculture–FDA, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction–Veterans Affairs. Additional context on the shutdown and its resolution is available in OGR’s earlier coverage.

Since then, appropriators have resumed work on the remaining FY26 bills. In early December, Senate leaders moved closer to advancing a five-bill minibus that would include Labor–HHS–Education, Defense, Transportation–HUD, Interior–Environment, and Commerce–Justice–Science, though objections within the Republican conference delayed floor action. The Senate ultimately failed to move anything forward before the holiday break, with Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stating they agreed on advancing funding bills when the Senate reconvened.

Once Congress returned from the holiday break, lawmakers released the negotiated agreement for a three-bill “minibus,” which includes the Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, and Interior-Environment bills. The House is expected to take up the measure later this week. The chart below outlines the current funding status of several programs of interest to the Duke community. It illustrates Congress’s efforts to push back on the dramatic cuts to research and education programs proposed by the administration. Negotiations are expected to continue on the remaining FY26 measures ahead of the January 30 funding deadline.

Research

Building on developments OGR has tracked throughout the year, federal research policy continues to be shaped by a mix of administrative priorities, congressional action, and litigation.

Earlier OGR coverage summarized the administration’s FY27 research and development priorities, as well as a series of agency actions affecting grantmaking, indirect cost policies, and research oversight.

Congress passed, and President Donald Trump signed into law, the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) just before the end of the year. More details on provisions of interest, including top-line budget numbers, indirect cost rates, and other relevant information, were covered in a previous DC Digest.

Other recent activities have largely reinforced these trends, as OGR continues to monitor agencies implementing guidance and courts issuing decisions that affect research funding, including facilities and administrative costs. In September, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick proposed imposing a 50 percent innovation tax on revenues universities earn from licensing their discoveries to the private sector. Although no concrete action is currently scheduled on this proposal, OGR is closely monitoring this issue and will provide updates as needed.

Additional Duke-specific resources related to the research landscape can be found on the Office of Research and Innovation’s website.

Student Aid

Following the developments in student aid covered earlier, federal activity in this area has accelerated through both negotiated rulemaking and congressional engagement.

OGR previously summarized major student aid provisions enacted under reconciliation and early signals from the Department of Education regarding implementation. We have also covered the Congressional response to proposed limits on graduate lending for medical professions in detail.

More recently, the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee reached consensus on the Department’s complete package of proposals discussed during its first negotiated rulemaking session, which primarily focuses on establishing a new Workforce Pell program. The consensus package addresses program classification, value-added earnings calculations, completion and placement metrics, and clarifications regarding eligibility and program purpose.

Relatedly, though not part of the negotiated rulemaking session, the Department introduced a new earnings indicator within the FAFSA process that alerts students when graduates of a listed institution earn less than a typical high school graduate, based on College Scorecard data. The Department has released additional information, including a list of institutions identified under the new indicator.

The AHEAD committee has reconvened for its second session, which will focus on additional issues enacted under reconciliation, including accountability measures, financial value transparency, and gainful employment and Pell eligibility exclusions tied to high Student Aid Index values.

In other recent student aid news, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce has advanced several higher education bills related to financial aid award letters and college cost transparency. While no floor votes are currently scheduled, the activity reflects continued congressional interest in cost and value disclosure issues.

Immigration

As previously detailed in our blog, immigration policy developments over the past year have continued to affect international students, scholars, and employees across higher education.

Since that coverage, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced new rules that shorten the time foreign workers may remain employed in the United States before renewing their work permits. Under the changes, refugees, asylees, and several other non-citizen groups must seek reauthorization every 18 months or less, with some facing annual renewals.

In addition, the Department of State implemented new procedures for vetting the online presence of H-1B and H-4 visa applicants, expanding screening practices previously applied to F, M, and J visa categories. President Trump has also expanded the list of entry restrictions, adding 20 countries to the list, which now includes 39 nations under full or partial bans.

Looking ahead, the Department of Homeland Security is preparing a proposed rule that would significantly revise the Optional Practical Training program. The rule, listed on the regulatory agenda, is expected to address oversight, fraud prevention, and national security considerations, with publication anticipated in early 2026. Other immigration-related rules affecting H-1B visas and duration of status remain pending.

Tax

Federal tax policy affecting higher education has continued to evolve through both legislation and agency guidance.

As covered previously by OGR, reconciliation legislation revised the higher education endowment tax by adjusting institutional thresholds and creating tiered tax rates. The Senate’s version reshapes the tax on large university endowments:

• Exempts schools with fewer than 3,000 tuition-paying students, up from the House’s 500-student threshold.
• Introduces a tiered tax structure with rates from 1.4% to 8%, depending on endowment size.

In early January, the Treasury Department will begin developing regulations that will govern the tax changes and issue final rules later in 2026.

Policy Engagement

Throughout the year, the Duke community actively engaged with policymakers both in Washington, D.C. and on campus, through a diverse set of programs, convenings, and meetings. These activities drew expertise from all parts of the university, working to build purposeful partnerships with lawmakers, think tanks, and policy professionals to elevate Duke’s presence and impact in D.C.

Among the D.C. engagement, Duke faculty and staff brought their expertise directly to policymakers on the Hill, including Dr. Emily Edwards with the Duke Quantum Center, who hosted a briefing with other academic leaders on the basics of quantum science. The leadership of the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) visited Capitol Hill to highlight the importance of federal funding to the work at TUNL and the development of the future nuclear workforce. Also on the Hill, Dr. Ashley Ward held a briefing highlighting the efforts of the Nicholas Institute Heat Policy Innovation Hub. The briefing included opening remarks from Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ).

Professors Dan Scolnic and Michael Troxel, assistant professors of Duke’s physics department, visited several offices in the North Carolina delegation to discuss the Roman Space Telescope mission.

Among engagements in Durham, several lawmakers connected with campus both through in-person visits and virtual remarks. Congressman Greg Murphy (NC-03) took a tour of the Duke School of Medicine and learned more about its efforts statewide to expand patient care and access, as well as the North Carolina’s first and only freestanding children’s hospital.

Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) paid a visit to one of Duke’s NIH-funded research labs, met with President Vincent Price and lunched with Duke Law students.

Duke’s own representative, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04), provided welcome remarks at this year’s inaugural Athena Summit, which showcased Duke’s leadership in artificial intelligence and edge computing

What’s Next?

The Office of Government Relations will continue to monitor all aspects of federal policy activity of interest to Duke. To receive regular updates from our office, sign up for our DC Digest here.

The DC Digest-January 6, 2026

January 6, 2026

• Appropriations Committee Releases Minibus Bill Text
• Court Upholds Ruling to Block NIH Cut to F&A
• Education Department to Start Garnishing Wages of Student Loan Borrowers in Default
• DOJ: Education Department’s Race-Based Grants Unconstitutional
• Judge Sides with Trump Administration Over $100K Visa Fee

The DC Digest-December 23, 2025

December 23, 2025

• Senate Republicans Release FY26 Homeland Security Funding Bill
• House SST Hearing on Research Security
• DOE Under Secretary for Science Appears Before House SST Committee
• Trump Administration Appeals Harvard Ruling
• Senate Clears Additional Federal Agency Nominations
• Trump Nominates Joshua Rudd to Lead NSA

The DC Digest will return after the new year. Happy Holidays!

The DC Digest-December 19, 2025

December 19, 2025

• Senate Leaves Town without Minibus Action
• Trump Signs NDAA
• Administration Plans to Dismantle NCAR
• NSF to Implement Organizational Realignment
• Senators Budd and Fetterman Introduce Legislation to Create National AI-Enabled, Automated Lab Network
• NSF Announces New Initiative to Bolster Research Organizations
• Trump Expands Travel Ban to 39 Countries
• Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Push to Classify Nursing as a Professional Degree
• Post of the Week!

The Duke Digest-December 18, 2025

December 18, 2025

• New Duke Homepage Highlights Duke’s Presence in North Carolina
• AI Learns to Build Simple Equations for Complex Systems
• Duke–Industry Materials Connect: 2025 Kickoff Event Brings Together Regional Industry and Duke Materials Science
• And Much More…

The DC Digest-December 16, 2025

December 16, 2025

• Senate Passes NDAA Procedural Vote
• Federal Policy Updates from Duke Government Relations: Research
• Federal Judge Issues Ruling on Borrower Defense Settlement Deadlines
• Visa Developments: Lawsuit Filed Over H-1B Visa Fee, New Social Media Screening Rules Implemented

Federal Policy Activity: Research Updates

December 16, 2025

As part of the Office of Government Relations’ ongoing series tracking federal policy areas of interest to the Duke community, this update summarizes recent federal actions shaping the national research landscape.

Administration and Agency Actions

Federal agencies have undertaken a series of policy shifts and operational changes affecting universities and other research institutions.

Most recently, the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy released the administration’s FY27 R&D budget priorities, outlining a sharpened focus on artificial intelligence, quantum information science, semiconductors, next-generation energy technologies and research infrastructure. These priorities frame agency planning heading into the next fiscal year and signal continued emphasis on U.S. competitiveness and mission-aligned research.

The administration continued to issue a number of executive orders that impacted the nation’s research enterprise. These include the following:

• May 2025 Executive Order on Restoring Gold Standard Science
• May 2025 Executive Order on Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research
• August 2025 Executive Order on Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking
• September 2025 Executive Order on Unlocking Cures for Pediatric Cancer with Artificial Intelligence
• November 2025 Executive Order on Launching the Genesis Mission

Federal research agencies have also undergone restructuring and personnel changes over the second half of this year. The Department of Energy recently released its new reorganization plan, which prioritizes nuclear energy and critical minerals and shifts focus away from clean energy programs. In May, news broke about a possible restructuring plan at the National Science Foundation (NSF) that would reduce its Senior Executive Service personnel and outside “rotators”, eliminate  and cancelling a substantial number of active research grants as part of a broader workforce and management overhaul.

At the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Director Jay Bhattacharya directed staff to review all grants, contracts and training programs to ensure alignment with current priorities and timely obligation of FY funds. This follows several related policy actions over the past year, including:

• NIH’s rollout of a unified funding strategy to improve consistency in award decisions
• New structures governing NIH-funded international research collaborations
• NIH’s initiative directing funding announcements toward human-based research approaches
• The implementation of temporary emergency modifications to peer review procedures in late November addressing operational challenges stemming from the shutdown period.

Congressional Activity

Congress remains actively engaged on research-related appropriations and oversight. At the time of this update, the final FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act has passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting final approval by the Senate before heading to President Trump for signature. The legislation includes the following provisions of interest to the Duke community.

• Authorizes $2.3 billion for basic research, $73 million above the FY 26 budget request
• Prohibits the modification of indirect cost rates for higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations without prior consultation with those groups. 
• Extends existing limits on federal support for certain international research collaborations 
• Directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to assess the potential creation of incubator programs to support secure research facilities and networks at universities. 

Notably, the conference agreement does not include the SAFE Research Act, which was included in the House version and would prohibited federal research agencies from funding researchers who collaborate with “foreign adversaries.”

Negotiations on the FY 2026 appropriations bills restarted after the 43-day government shutdown. Although the endgame for the FY 26 budget remains unclear, of note for the research community is Congress’s rejection of the drastic cuts to federal research budget proposed under the administration’s budget request. Also, appropriations bills with jurisdiction over the federal science agencies contain some version of language that would block the administration from unilaterally changing or reducing negotiated facilities and administrative (F&A) costs for universities.

The reauthorization of the SBIR/STTR programs has stalled in Congress, and the program authority officially expired on September 30, resulting in a lapse in funding. Negotiations are currently centered on passing a simple, clean reauthorization of the programs versus moving forward with an overhaul of the programs.

Court Decisions Affecting Research Funding

A series of high-impact court rulings continues to shape agency grantmaking practices and indirect cost policies central to university research operations.

• NIH and NSF Grant Terminations
  • A federal judge ordered NIH to restore roughly $500 million in suspended UCLA research funds, finding the freezes “likely arbitrary and capricious.”
  • The Supreme Court allowed the administration to proceed with nearly $800 million in NIH grant reductions while legal challenges continue.
  • A separate federal case challenging NSF’s termination of more than $1 billion in DEI-related grants will move forward, though the judge declined to reinstate funding at this stage.
• Indirect Cost Policies
  • The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments over NIH’s 15 percent indirect cost cap, with judges expressing skepticism about DOJ’s jurisdiction arguments and citing congressional language barring “modified” F&A approaches.
  • A federal district court vacated the DOD’s indirect cost cap as unlawful; an appeal is expected.
  • The NSF subsequently withdrew its appeal in its own indirect-cost litigation, making the district court’s vacatur of NSF’s 15 percent cap final.

Research Community and Coalition Advocacy

Several coalitions in which Duke participates have recently issued statements or letters in support of robust federal research funding. The Energy Sciences Coalition sent a letter to leaders at the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy requesting no less than $9.5 billion for the DOE  Office of Science in FY27, citing strong alignment with the administration’s research priorities, including artificial intelligence, microelectronics, and advanced materials.

The Coalition for National Science Funding sent a letter to congressional leadership urging them to provide the highest funding level possible for the National Science Foundation as they work to finalize FY26 appropriations.

The DC Digest-December 12, 2025

December 12, 2025

• NDAA Passes House, Likely Up for Senate Vote Next Week
• New Executive Order on State AI Laws
• AHEAD Committee Reaches Consensus in Negotiated Rulemaking Session
• Education Department Takes Next Step in Review of College Accreditation 
• FAFSA Launches New “Earnings Indicator” Tool
• House Committee Marks Up College Cost Bills
• Senate Moves Forward with New S&T Nominees
• Post of the Week!

The Duke Digest-December 11, 2025

December 11, 2025

• “Permanent Good” Documentary Nominated for Emmy
• Inside the Minds of Puppies: How Do They Develop Their Thinking Skills?
• Empowering the Next Generation of Engineering Leaders With New $11 Million Gift
• And Much More…

The DC Digest-December 9, 2025

December 9, 2025

• NDAA Text Released, Vote Expected Wednesday
• FAFSA Completion Up
• Education Department Bringing Back Civil Rights Employees