Executive Order Update: July 3rd, 2025
Senate Passes “Big Beautiful Bill,” Sending it Back to the House for Final Vote: On July 1, the Senate passed its version of the “Big Beautiful Bill” in a 50–50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The bill is being debated in the House before it holds a final vote. Once the House holds a vote and if the bill passes, it will go to the president to be signed into law. Until that final vote takes place, you can still ask your Congressional representative to vote against the bill by calling 1-866-426-2631.
This sweeping legislation threatens healthcare access for the 72 million Americans who rely on Medicaid, potentially forcing hospitals to close and leaving millions uninsured. It also slashes SNAP benefits, increasing hunger and preventable illness, while imposing new work requirements that could push vulnerable people off essential programs.
This sweeping legislation threatens healthcare access for the 72 million Americans who rely on Medicaid, potentially forcing hospitals to close and leaving millions uninsured. It also slashes SNAP benefits, increasing hunger and preventable illness, while imposing new work requirements that could push vulnerable people off essential programs.
At the same time, the bill delivers trillions in tax breaks to the wealthy and large corporations, adds over $5 trillion to the national debt, and allocates more than $100 billion to expand immigration detention and deportation — fueling fear of family separations in immigrant communities.
Cuts to these programs will disproportionately harm communities already facing barriers to healthcare, food security, and economic opportunity. Increased funding for detention and deportation also raises the risk of racial profiling and surveillance.
DOJ Prioritizes Denaturalization of U.S. Citizens: A June 11 DOJ memo published this week identified denaturalization as a top priority; the directive encourages prosecutors to launch civil cases to revoke citizenship from naturalized Americans — a process that does not guarantee legal representation and uses a lower standard of proof than criminal cases.
The policy expands denaturalization to include actions taken after naturalization, not just undisclosed past conduct. This shift raises serious concerns about unequal treatment, political misuse, and long-term legal uncertainty for over 25 million naturalized citizens. The shift marks a major expansion of a practice that was previously rare and limited to exceptional cases; its legality is questionable because the Supreme Court has previously warned that expansive denaturalized unconstitutionally creates two tiers of citizenship.
Education Department Freezes $6.2 Billions in School Funding: The U.S. Department of Education froze $6.2 billion in congressionally allocated federal K–12 funding scheduled to be disbursed July 1 with no advance notice or timeline for release. The freeze affects five major federal programs that schools rely on: money for teacher training, support for student learning and enrichment, funding for after-school and summer programs, services for students learning English, and help for children of migrant farm and fishing workers.
Educators are warning that the funding freeze could lead to significant learning loss, higher dropout rates, reduced supervision for children, and increased stress on working families. For example, nearly 1.4 million children across the country participate in more than 10,000 local after-school and summer programs funded by the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers — the primary national source of support for this kind of learning. The cuts are expected to hit economically disadvantaged students and English learners the hardest.
Federal Agencies Quietly Build Citizenship Database, Raising Privacy and Voting Rights Concerns: The Department of Homeland Security and the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have created a centralized database combining U.S. citizenship information from multiple federal agencies. This system, reportedly designed to help verify citizenship for voting and other government functions, builds on the existing SAVE program and may soon include state DMV records.
No public notice was given, despite federal law requiring transparency when personal data is used in new ways. This secretive rollout raises serious concerns about privacy, data accuracy, and potential misuse. Without clear safeguards or a way for individuals to correct errors, the database could lead to wrongful voter purges and discourage naturalized citizens and voters of color from participating in elections — especially if they fear being mistakenly flagged.
Supreme Court Upholds Preventive Care Coverage Under ACA—But Raises Concern About Political Influence: On June 27, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc., reaffirming that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurance plans to cover preventive services without cost-sharing. The case challenged the mandate on religious grounds but centered on whether the Preventive Services Task Force (PSTF) — whose members are appointed by the HHS Secretary — has the authority to determine what insurers must cover.
The decision protects preventive healthcare access for nearly 40 million Americans. However, it also raises concerns about future political interference in public health guidance. The ruling gives HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known anti-vaccine activist, and future secretaries greater control over the PSTF’s recommendations — potentially undermining science-based standards and practices.
Federal Trial Courts are Stepping Up Efforts to Rein in Executive Actions They Found Sidestep Legal Procedures and Overstep Congressional Authority: A federal court in D.C. blocked President Trump’s January 20 executive proclamation that labeled migrants entering irregularly at the southern border as an “invasion” and suspended their right to seek asylum. The judge ruled that neither the Immigration and Nationality Act nor the Constitution gives the president authority to override Congress’s asylum laws. The injunction is paused for 14 days to give the administration time to appeal. In New York, a federal court stopped the administration’s plan to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians before its congressionally extended expiration date of February 3, 2026. The court found that DHS Secretary Kristi L. Noem failed to follow required legal procedures and that many Haitian TPS holders had reasonably relied on the program lasting through the full extension. In Texas, another federal court blocked the Department of Health and Human Services from moving forward with mass layoffs and a reorganization of certain divisions. It found that the agency did not have the authority and failed to follow legal steps for changing a congressionally funded office. The administration will appeal all these rulings.