Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is reading this week.
It’s Harder Than It Looks – Trump misses driving, feels as if he is in a cocoon, and is surprised how hard his new job is. President Donald Trump on Thursday reflected on his first 100 days in office with a wistful look at his life before the White House. “I loved my previous life. I had so many things going,” Trump told Reuters in an interview. “This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.” Read more from Reuters.
Diversity Among Early Career Awardees – Increasing diversity within academic science has been a priority for France Córdova since she became director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2014. Within a year she had launched an initiative, called INCLUDES, that challenges universities to do a better job of attracting women and minorities into the field. Now, Córdova has turned her attention inward in hopes of improving the dismal track record of NSF’s most prestigious award for young scientists. Read more from Science Magazine.
Judge Blocks Another Trump Order – A judge in San Francisco on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Trump’s efforts to starve localities of federal funds when they limit their cooperation with immigration enforcement, a stinging rejection of his threats to make so-called sanctuary cities fall in line. The judge, William H. Orrick of United States District Court, said only Congress could place such conditions on spending. The ruling, which applies nationwide, was another judicial setback for the Trump administration, which has now seen three immigration orders stopped by federal courts in its first 100 days. Read more from The New York Times.
Indirect Costs Associated with Research – For more than a decade, the University of Washington has used federal research funding to help finance a $1.1 billion building boom in labs and research offices — 15 buildings in all. But now the Trump administration is talking of sharply curtailing the overhead costs that can be included in research grants. Those so-called “indirect” costs cover salaries of hundreds of staffers who help with research support — and constructing new lab and office space. Read more from The Seattle Times.
On DeVos Rescinding Protections for Borrowers – Democrats sent a letter to Secretary DeVos criticizing the reversal of Obama-era policy on loan servicing and borrower protections. Read the full letter here.