Updates on Federal Executive Orders and Research Activities

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2025 Federal Shutdown Information for Researchers

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) continues to monitor the potential for a federal government shutdown. Those updates are posted on a separate page. Click the link below.

Information for Researchers

 

This webpage is dynamic and updated frequently. Please check back often.

Last updated October 15, 2025

 

Guidelines for the Research Community

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) continues to monitor the 2025 presidential administration transition. Below are some helpful guidelines.

  • Closely monitor obligated budget balances to avoid deficits while awaiting future obligations. Anticipated future funding remains subject to availability of funds and should not be considered guaranteed.
  • If you are waiting to hear back from a program officer, please be aware they may not be able to respond during the agency communications pause.
  • Ensure all technical reports and deliverables are submitted by their due dates and prioritize the submission of any that are past due.
  • Monitor policy updates: Keep an eye on announcements from the federal agency overseeing your grant for any updates on funding or compliance requirements.
  • Principal investigators are encouraged to ensure that they have access to and control over datasets.
  • Continue to submit proposals. Closely monitor the funding announcement to see if the proposal criteria changes.
  • OVPRI and the Office of General Counsel ask that you forward any communications from granting agencies relating to stop work orders, modifications to existing grants, requests for attestations, and spending justification requests.

OVPRI has adopted a process to appeal the termination of contracts and grants by federal agencies (requires DuckID to log in).

Additionally, the UO continues to monitor and communicate any immigration updates, and their potential impact to our international, Dreamer, and undocumented students, faculty, and staff.

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Recent Federal Actions

Past Federal Actions
Statements in Response to Federal Actions

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Resources for Researchers

At this time, the Council on Government Relations (COGR) is providing the most complete guidance on how the executive orders could affect operations, including a summary of executive orders. COGR's mission is to empower an unparalleled US academic research ecosystem by advancing sound federal policies and regulations that are vital to US science and innovation leadership and our nation’s health, security, and prosperity. Request access to the COGR membership portal.

Please note this page is dynamic and information could be incomplete.

The Chronicle of Higher Education is tracking the actions of President Trump's administration that affect higher education. Chronicle of Higher Education's Trump's Agenda for Higher Ed Tracker (sign in with your DuckID to access Chronicle content)

The Chronicle is also tracking the development of an indirect costs (also known as facilities and administrative, or F&A) model. Read more about the Financial Accountability in Research (FAIR) model (requires UO VPN or account to access).

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has compiled a fiscal year (FY) 2026 research and development appropriations dashboard. It compares the White House, House, and Senate spending proposals for science and technology programs in FY 2026.

FAQs for Researchers

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Email Updates

The following message was sent to graduate students, tenure track and research faculty, department grant administrators, OVPRI centers and institutes, core facility staff, Government and Community Relations, Office of General Counsel, and OVPRI staff on Wednesday, October 15.

Tracking Terminations and Appeals

  • Grant terminations received: 20, totaling $1.8 million
  • Change from previous week: 0
  • Relevant agencies: NEA, NEH, NSF, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Economic Development Administration
  • Active appeals: 15
  • Terminations lifted: 12 (NIH: 11; NSF: 1), totaling $6.2 million

These figures are current as of 10/15.

Judge rules against DOD indirect cost cap, agency layoffs, shutdown monitoring

On October 10, a judge in the US District Court for Massachusetts ruled that the Department of Defense’s (DOD) policy capping indirect costs (also known as facilities and administrative or F&A), on research grants was arbitrary and capricious. It is not clear yet whether DOD will appeal the decision.

Principal investigators (PIs) submitting proposals to DOD should use the UO’s standard F&A rates. 

Federal Layoffs Continue 

Layoffs continued across federal agencies last week, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Health and Human Services, the US Department of Energy, and the US Department of Education. Some programs within the departments have lost either all staff or leadership, calling into question how grant administration will continue for those units. However, the Reduction in Force (RIF) layoffs typically do not take effect for 30-60 days, and there are examples of staff being brought back after a RIF when it becomes clear their positions are necessary to the function of a particular agency—such as at the Centers for Disease Control, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the National Weather Service. At the Department of Education, from September 2023 to September 2025, the number of people employed dropped by more than half. 

The Data Foundation has created a document that catalogues the impacts from the October 2025 personnel actions announced by the White House Office of Management and Budget and federal agencies. 

Monitoring the Effects of the Shutdown 

So far, despite the federal government shutdown, grant draws continue to be processed, and payment portals appear to be working well enough. Though we haven’t yet seen delays in solicitations, please be mindful of checking such dates frequently.

If you have submitted an annual or final project report for a grant and have received an overdue notice or did not receive confirmation of receipt after submission, these issues could be related to the shutdown. PIs are urged to continue to submit reports on time despite delays on the federal side.

Prior Emails

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