Government Affairs Digest: What Nonprofits Need to Know (Part 10)

April 1, 2025 - This content will be updated as developments unfold.

Latest Developments:

March 25: President Trump signed an executive order entitled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” seeking to make changes to the way federal elections are administered at the state level, which will be challenged in court as unconstitutional per Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of the Constitution. It has been noted that the executive order inaccurately describes the rules of nonprofit lobbying with federal funds.

Read: Executive Order on Election Administration - Nonprofit Vote

Relevant for: Any American voter, Nonprofits focused on voter access

March 26: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services canceled around $12 billion in federal grants to states that were allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants were being used to track, prevent, and control infectious diseases, including measles and bird flu, as well as track mental health services and fund addiction treatment.

Read: US pulls back $12 billion in funding to state health departments - Reuters

Relevant for: Public Health, Mental Health, Addiction Services

House DOGE Subcommittee Chair Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) held a hearing on “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable.” President Trump is expected to sign a threatened executive order to defund federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which partially funds these two public media outlets. Note: This move would harm rural communities the most, as stations in larger markets fundraise to support the majority of their operations, and rural stations rely heavily on CPB funds.

Watch: PBS and NPR leaders testify on federal support for public broadcasting in House hearing

Read: Americans more likely to support than oppose continuing federal funding for NPR and PBS - Pew Research Center

Relevant for: Nonprofit Media, Democracy-focused orgs, Rural Access

March 27: President Trump signed an executive order entitled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," aiming to eliminate "divisive, race-centered ideology" from federal historical institutions. The order directs Vice President Vance to oversee the removal of such ideologies from the Smithsonian Institution's museums, educational and research centers, and the National Zoo. Among the other directives in the executive order, it also instructs the Secretary of the Interior to investigate similar "divisive, race-centered ideology" found on federal monuments, memorials, statues, and markers within the Secretary’s jurisdiction.

Read: Trump executive order seeks to 'restore' American history through Smithsonian overhaul - NPR

Smithsonian Faces New Executive Order on Content Review as Secretary Bunch Reaffirms Commitment to Scholarship - Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Relevant for: Education, Researchers, History, Arts, Humanities, Museums

Senior U.S. District Court Judge William Smith of Rhode Island heard arguments concerning the constitutionality of complying with President Trump’s “gender ideology” Executive Order #14168, linked to the National Endowment for the Arts new grant guidelines. While Judge Smith did not promise an injunction, he said he would help get the plaintiffs "out of this 'Hobson's choice' they have to make about whether to submit a proposal they want to submit versus the proposal they think they might have to submit." A ruling is expected on 4/3/25 or by the morning of the following day.

Read: LGBTQ+ theater groups have day in court over endangered arts funding - Rhode Island Current

Relevant for: Arts & Culture, Artists & Curators, Creative Placemaking

March 31: All Institute of Museum and Library Services staff were put on administrative leave two weeks after President Trump issued an executive order naming the independent agency as one of seven that should be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”

Read: Letter signed by all IMLS Board Members to Acting Director Keith E. Sonderling in support of the agency

Trump Administration Moves to Shutter Library Agency - New York Times

ALA says White House “cutting off opportunity” for Americans as administration cuts IMLS staff - American Library Association

AAM Statement on the Placing of IMLS Staff on Administrative Leave - American Alliance of Museums

IMLS Interactive Map of Grantees - IMLS

Relevant for: Education, Researchers, History, Arts, Humanities, Libraries

SOME GOOD NEWS:


Resources:

Further Reading:

 
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