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ED and Federal Agencies Restart Operations Following Passage of Government Funding Deal
After a 43-day shutdown, the federal government reopened on November 13 after President Donald Trump signed a bill to fund the government through January 30, 2026.The Senate voted 60-40, with eight Democrats joining Republicans to advance a new Continuing Resolution (CR), along with the FY 2026 spending bills for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction/Veterans Affairs. The House concurred with the Senate, voting 222-209.
As part of the government's reopening, food benefit programs will resume providing resources and furloughed federal workers will return to agencies. Notably, the shutdown deal does not include funding for expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits, which Senate Democrats had demanded the extension of. However, Republican leadership made an agreement to hold a vote in mid-December on a stand-alone bill.
Among other provisions, the legislation also provides:
- back pay for federal employees that lost pay during the shutdown;
- reimburses state governments for carrying out federal programs during the shutdown to avoid reductions in service;
- reverses the reduction in force (RIF) notices sent during the shutdown and mandates the rehire of these fired federal employees; and
- prevents new RIFs at any government agency through January 30, 2026.
ED Resumes Standard Operations
ED has also resumed standard operations following significant disruptions during the shutdown. The department has begun reissuing grant management deadlines, restarting technical assistance operations, and updating institutions on delays to key programs. ED announced that processing of financial aid transactions will resume on a rolling basis as systems come fully back online. The Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) is also working to address the backlog of activities that paused during the shutdown. ED has also announced Richard Lucas to serve as the acting top official overseeing the federal government’s $1.6 trillion portfolio of student loans and financial aid programs. In addition, ED is preparing updated timelines for ongoing rulemaking processes and program implementation activities that were temporarily halted.