The DC Digest

Duke Government Relations

Duke in DC's Top News Today:

Shutdown Day 28
New ARPA-H Director Named
AAU Joins H-1B Fee Lawsuit

The Highlights 📰

Budget & Appropriations

The latest coverage on Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations that are relevant to Duke.

Duke Government Relations' primer on the federal appropriations process.

SHUTDOWN DAY 28

The federal government is nearing one month of being shutdown, and this morning the Senate failed for a 13th time to pass a vote for federal funding. As the shutdown's impact begins to spread across federal agencies and programs, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is reporting a first: the agency has furloughed 1,400 employees, leaving about 400 NNSA staff to maintain minimum safe operating conditions at the nuclear security agency. Duke's Office of Government Relations (OGR) is closely tracking other agency staffing concerns and any potential impacts on federally related business, such as delays in visa processing or impacts on federal student aid. As a reminder, the OGR has an ongoing blog posting with these and other recent updates related to the shutdown and its impacts. Click below to read more.

Shutdown Blog

Research

The latest updates on legislation and regulations that impact Duke's research enterprise.

NEW ARPA-H DIRECTOR SWORN IN

President Donald Trump appointed Alicia Jackson to lead the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). Jackson, a health entrepreneur and former Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) official, was sworn in on October 20. She previously founded Evernow and co-founded Drawbridge Health, bringing both private-sector and federal innovation experience to the role.

New Director

Immigration

The latest updates on legislation and regulatory actions related to immigration that are relevant to Duke.

AAU JOINS H-1B VISA LAWSUIT

The Association of American Universities (AAU), of which Duke is a member, joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee on certain H-1B visa petitions, arguing that the charge is unlawful and harmful to U.S. businesses and universities. The complaint contends the fee exceeds presidential authority and violates federal immigration law. Prior to joining the lawsuit, AAU President Barbara R. Snyder sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asking the administration to reconsider implementing the proclamation or to “consider granting a blanket national interest waiver to the employees sponsored by U.S. institutions of higher education.” This action follows last week's letter led by the American Council on Education (ACE) seeking clarification on the original presidential proclamation implementing the fee, as well as exemptions for higher education insitutions, citing the fact that "faculty, researchers, and staff hired under H-1Bs educate domestic students in areas of national need, such as health care, engineering, and education fields."

H-1B Lawsuit

Government Relations Resources

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