Bracing for the New Day

Dear Faculty Colleagues,

The Trump Administration has quickly begun implementing its policy priorities this week, issuing Executive Orders (EO) and initiating internal reviews across several agencies. Temporary pauses on external communications and operational reviews are standard for a new administration. Many decisions will be delayed until new agency leadership is in place, allowing them to interpret Congressional authorizations, streamline operations and align with the incoming Administration’s priorities.

WSU’s Office of Federal Relations is actively monitoring these developments and is working closely with the Office of Provost and Executive Vice President, the Office of the Executive Vice President for Health Sciences, the Office of Research, and the Attorney General’s Office to ensure compliance with any immediate changes that may significantly impact WSU. Our teams are collaborating with our professional associations to understand and track the implications of these directives as well. As this process moves forward, our federal relations team will actively engage with our federal policymakers to advocate for the university’s mission and the interests of its community.

In the meantime, we ask that researchers and administrators share all agency communications related to their federally funded projects with the Office of Research at orso@wsu.edu. Faculty should continue their research on funded proposals and continue to submit proposals. If you have any questions regarding your grants, please reach out to your grant administrators and/or the Office of Research. We will keep faculty informed with regular updates on the OR website. If you have questions regarding Congress or the Administration, please reach out to Jake Dowd or Bethany Johns in the Office of Federal Relations.

Sincerely,