Last week, Republican members of the House Education and Workforce Committee introduced the "Less Bureaucracy, Better Education" legislative package, a series of bills that would codify — and even expand — the administration's efforts to reorganize the Department of Education by transferring statutory responsibilities to other federal agencies and reducing the Department's role in administering federal education programs.

Last week, the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government held an oversight hearing on the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Director Russell Vought faced questions about OMB's recently proposed rule, "Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance," which would amend the government-wide grant regulations at 2 CFR Part 200.

On June 25, Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), along with 16 cosponsors, introduced H.Res. 1391, to Impeach Linda M. McMahon, Secretary of Education, for high crimes and misdemeanors. Specifically, the resolution finds that Secretary McMahon: (1) violated federal law by illegally transferring the operations of six offices under the Department of Education to other Federal agencies, fundamentally obstructing the ability of the Department to conduct statutory oversight and disperse Congressionally-appropriated funds; (2) knowingly and willfully made materially false statements during testimony before the United States Senate during hearings on February 13, 2025; (3) has breached the public trust by terminating approximately 2,000 employees at the Department, resulting in delayed disbursement of federal education funds.

Last Tuesday, the Department of Education announced four new interagency agreements (IAAs) that would, in part, move the functions and responsibilities of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to the Department of Health and Human Services, and move the Office for Civil Rights and Student Privacy Policy Office to the Department of Justice.

On June 8, lacking anything better to do, the Senate agreed to S.Res. 757, designating June 11 as “National Seersucker Day,” designating every subsequent Thursday through August as “Seersucker Thursday,” and designating June 2026 as “Seersucker Appreciation Month.”

On June 4, the House Appropriations Committee released its FY2027 billfor the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. The bill would provide a discretionary total of $70.7 billion to the Department of Education, which is approximately 10% below the FY2026 enacted level.

Last week, the Senate was out of session and the House operated on a limited schedule. Despite the lighter legislative calendar, the House filed reports on two bills aimed at combating FAFSA fraud. These measures join a growing number of FAFSA-related anti-fraud proposals introduced in recent months, many of which align with the administration’s broader identity fraud prevention initiative announced in June 2025.

Last week, the Department of Justice announced a $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fundto “provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.” The announcement came as Mark Lieberman at Education Week reported that OMB has not apportioned $2 billionin funding that was appropriated in February for federal education programs.

This week, Secretary McMahon appeared before the House Education and Workforce Committee to defend proposed budget cuts for FY2027. The Secretary championed efforts to dismantle the Department by shifting programs to other agencies, which House Democrats criticized the strategy, arguing it lacks required congressional approval.

On May 1, the Department published Reimagining and Improving Student Education – Federal Student Loan Program Final Regulations. The rules, which implement provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, P.L. 119-21, and take effect on July 1, 2026, dramatically change certain aspects of the federal student loan program. One of the more controversial provisions of the regulations is the definition of “professional” and “graduate,” with the impact of categorization being significant disparities in new federal loan caps. Since P.L. 119-21 was passed last summer some members of Congress have been seeking to adjust those changes. So far, eight different bills have been introduced to either raise loan limits or shift the definition of “professional” to increase the number of students eligible for higher loan limits; two of those bills were introduced last week, but nothing has advanced yet.

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee hosted Secretary McMahon to discuss the President’s FY2027 Budget Proposal. Secretary McMahon, facing bipartisan skepticism, defended her vision of educational renewal and returning education to the states. The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hold a markup of their FY2027 budget for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies on June 5 (Subcommittee) and June 9 (Full Committee); the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee released General Guidance on appropriations requests, and aims to complete markup of all 12 spending bills by the end of June.

Last week, Congress continued to hear testimony about the President’s FY2027 Budget Proposal. This Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, will review the budget request for the Department of Education and hear from Secretary McMahon. Expect questions related to the transfer of significant functions out of the Department, efforts to overhaul large swaths of federal student assistance programs, and continued concern about how and when funding (both title and discretionary) will reach states.

Budget season is underway—House and Senate Budget and Appropriations committees began hearing testimony on the President's FY2027 budget request, with the House set to mark up its Labor, HHS, and Education spending bill on June 5 and 9. A hearing specifically on the Department of Education's budget has not yet been publicly scheduled.

While Congress remained in recess, the House Education and Workforce Committee advanced committee reports on seven bills amending the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, introducing enhanced fraud prevention measures, new provider accountability requirements, and triennial state performance reviews. The reports position the bills for House floor consideration as part of a broader Republican push on child care oversight.

With Congress on Spring Break, the administration released its FY2027 Budget Proposal—which assumes continued dismantling of the Department through IAAs, consolidation or elimination of numerous discretionary grant programs, and the creation of a new "Make Education Great Again" (MEGA) block grant program. Congress rejected analogous proposals in FY2026, but the budget signals the administration's intent to press forward administratively even without legislative approval.

The administration announced it would move remaining Department of Education staff out of the LBJ headquarters building—which has served as the Department's home for 40 years—in the latest step of its effort to dissolve the agency without Congressional approval. Ranking Member Bobby Scott objected, noting the move is not a bureaucratic reduction but a symbolic and operational step in a broader effort to diminish the federal role in ensuring equal access to education.

A House Judiciary Subcommittee convened a hearing directly aimed at revisiting Plyler v. Doe—the 1982 Supreme Court decision guaranteeing K–12 public education access regardless of immigration status—with at least six states having introduced legislation designed to challenge or lay groundwork for overturning the precedent. The hearing reflects meaningful support among House majority members for undermining a foundational access guarantee in public education, with consequences well beyond immigration policy.

The Senate HELP Committee continued its scrutiny of foreign financial relationships with American universities, raising concerns that foreign governments—particularly China—may exploit university partnerships and research funding to gain access to sensitive technologies and intellectual property. The hearing came weeks after the Department launched its new HEA Section 117 reporting portal and transferred administration of the program to the State Department.

The Senate passed the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act by unanimous consent, blocking collection of personal data from anyone under 17 without consent and limiting targeted advertising to minors—while the House companion bill was pulled from markup as staff-level bipartisan negotiations reached "substantial progress." The bills are part of a larger legislative push to update and improve online safety protections for students and youth.

The President's 1-hour-47-minute State of the Union address largely bypassed education policy, offering no substantive education agenda for the coming year beyond brief references to parents' rights and gender identity. Congress, meanwhile, introduced a package of bills increasing oversight and accountability for child care block grants and held hearings on CTE and AI in schools.