March 14

Education Department opens Title VI investigations into 45 universities over PhD Project ties and race-based scholarships

The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights announced Title VI investigations into 45 universities based on their participation in the PhD Project, a nonprofit program that has for 30 years worked to increase the number of Black, Hispanic, and Native American faculty in business schools by providing doctoral fellowships and professional development. OCR also opened related investigations into race-conscious scholarship programs at multiple institutions. The PhD Project had previously been regarded as a model of voluntary professional association work in the academic sector. The investigations turned participation in it into a federal compliance liability. Within weeks of the announcement, several universities quietly ended their PhD Project partnerships and discontinued similar fellowship programs. The action came on top of the 60-university antisemitism investigation wave, meaning dozens of universities were simultaneously navigating multiple active federal civil rights inquiries.

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Trump administration fires immigration judges, disrupting thousands of pending cases

The Trump administration fired approximately 20 immigration judges in March 2025, including judges who had granted bond hearings or asylum claims the administration disagreed with, along with members of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Because immigration judges are DOJ employees rather than independent Article III judges, they can be terminated without judicial tenure protections. The firings disrupted thousands of scheduled hearings and raised immediate due process questions about the independence of the immigration adjudication system.

Vance visits manufacturing facilities in Warren, Michigan with SBA Administrator Loeffler

Vice President JD Vance visited manufacturing facilities in Warren, Michigan on March 14, 2025, alongside Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler. Warren is a major Detroit-area manufacturing hub home to defense and auto industry suppliers; Vance used the visit to promote the administration's tariff and domestic manufacturing policies to auto-sector workers in a key political constituency.

Harvard IOP begins collecting data for its 50th youth poll

The Harvard Institute of Politics opened data collection for its 50th edition Youth Poll on March 14, 2025, surveying 2,096 Americans aged 18 to 29 through the Ipsos KnowledgePanel probability-based sample. The survey ran through March 25 and was weighted to match national benchmarks for age, gender, race, education, household income, and census region. The 50th edition marked 25 years of continuous generational political tracking.

Trump signs retaliatory executive order against Paul Weiss law firm

Trump signed an executive order revoking security clearances for Paul Weiss attorneys, barring the firm from federal buildings, and directing agencies to terminate contracts. The firm had represented clients adverse to Trump including Jan. 6 prosecutors. Chairman Brad Karp reached a settlement — including $40M in pro bono services — before the EO was rescinded.

Federal court temporarily blocks Trump move to dismantle IMLS

A federal court issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration's attempt to shut down the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which funds public libraries across all 50 states. The administration had moved to eliminate the agency as part of broader efforts to cut federal cultural and educational funding, but the court found plaintiffs showed likely irreparable harm.

Revived 1776 Commission pushes patriotic curriculum on Title I schools

The revived 1776 Commission released a patriotic education framework directing Title I schools to adopt a curriculum emphasizing American exceptionalism and minimizing systemic inequality narratives. The guidance threatened to condition federal education funding on curriculum compliance, raising First Amendment and academic freedom concerns among educators and civil liberties groups.

Biden signs executive order expanding background checks for gun purchases

President Biden signs an executive order aimed at increasing the number of background checks conducted before gun sales. The order strengthens enforcement of existing laws, directs the Attorney General to clarify who must obtain a federal firearms license, and promotes awareness of "red flag" laws that allow temporary removal of firearms from individuals deemed dangerous. The action implements the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act passed by Congress in 2022.

Asian family stabbed at Texas Sam's Club in COVID-related hate attack

A man attacked an Asian family at a Sam's Club in Midland, Texas, in an incident later prosecuted as a federal hate crime. Prosecutors said the attacker believed the family was Chinese and blamed them for COVID-19, though the victims were Burmese.

Midwest flooding exposes the cost of river-basin disaster policy

Historic flooding along the Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi River basins made 2019’s inland flooding the year’s dominant disaster cost. NOAA reported that the combined cost of Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi River flooding reached about $20 billion, nearly half the total cost of all 2019 billion-dollar disasters. The Trump administration approved disaster declarations across affected states, while the damage exposed long-term weaknesses in levees, farms, barge traffic and floodplain development.

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Palm Beach police refer Epstein case to FBI

Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter referred Jeffrey Epstein's sex abuse case to the FBI after local prosecutors stalled on charges involving over 40 identified underage victims. The Palm Beach investigation, which began in 2005 when a parent complained, had documented Epstein paying minors for sexual acts at his Palm Beach mansion. Reiter took the extraordinary step of bypassing the local State Attorney's office and going directly to federal authorities after concluding local prosecution would not proceed.