Each week, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore provides a summary of newly issued Executive Orders and other significant Presidential and federal actions that have a foreseeable impact on governance, compliance, and operational policies for California employers. The summaries below outline the key provisions of each action, along with our brief analysis of their potential implications for municipal agencies, school districts, private schools, and nonprofits.
EXECUTIVE ORDER: Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking (August 7, 2025)
President Trump signed an Executive Order that tightens executive control of the federal grant funding process by requiring a senior appointee at each federal agency to sign off on each grant the agency makes. A senior appointee is a non-career employee of the executive branch, often appointed by the President.
The Order directs each agency head to designate a senior appointee who will be responsible for creating a process to ensure any discretionary grants awarded are consistent with the President’s policy priorities and the national interest. Among other provisions, the Order prohibits agencies from approving grants that will fund, promote, encourage, subsidize, or facilitate:
The Order also requires agencies, to the extent permitted by law, to take steps to revise the terms and conditions of existing grants and include in future discretionary terms: (1) allowing federal agencies to terminate grants for any reason and at any time; and (2) prevent grantees from immediately drawing down general grant funds for specific projects without the affirmative authorization of the agency.
Collectively, these provisions and others in the Order will impact the availability of federal funding, increase scrutiny of applications for federal funding, and change the terms and conditions of existing federal grants. Clients who receive federal grants should carefully watch for developments from agencies they receive grants from and be prepared to comply with and/or evaluate the impact of this Order on their grants and operations.
Executive Memorandum: Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions (August 7, 2025)
On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an executive memorandum to the Secretary of Education directing that colleges and universities must submit expanded data about applicants to the U.S. Department of Education. The directive applies to colleges and universities that participate in the federal student loan program, which previously required data reporting to the Department about enrolled students.
The purpose of the directive is to reveal if schools are still preferencing race in admissions even after the Supreme Court banned such practices in 2023. The memorandum states, “the persistent lack of available data—paired with the rampant use of ‘diversity statements’ and other overt and hidden racial proxies—continues to raise concerns about whether race is actually used in practice. Greater transparency is essential to exposing unlawful practices and ultimately ridding society of shameful, dangerous racial hierarchies.”
While the memorandum does not itself specify the additional reporting requirements, on the same day, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon directed the National Center for Education Statistics to begin collecting additional data from schools about their applicants, including standardized test scores and GPAs. Schools will be required to disaggregate data about applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students by race and sex. The directive will take effect during the 2025-2026 academic year.
President Trump’s order also directs the Secretary of Education to “revamp the online presentation” of the data collected in the interest of public access and readability.
Colleges and universities that participate in federal financial assistance programs should be prepared to comply with the forthcoming reporting requirements.
If you have any questions about the above linked Presidential actions, please contact our Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fresno, San Diego, or Sacramento offices.