Important Federal Transition Updates, 2-3-25

Dear students, faculty and staff,

Transitions between federal administrations often bring some uncertainty, but the past two weeks have been marked by an unusual level of rapid change and lack of clarity.

Recent executive orders addressing federal funding, immigration, DEI initiatives, climate policies, gender identity, and other key issues are being released at a fast pace. While the full impact of these actions remains unclear, federal agencies must still determine implementation, and some policies have and will continue to face legal challenges.

Just this weekend, a temporary restraining order was granted in the United States District Court blocking the administration’s efforts to freeze payments and activity for grants and other programs, as originally detailed in a memo from the Office of Management and Budget on January 27.

Today the administration issued new guidance clarifying that federal agencies cannot pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate any federal grants based on the now-rescinded OMB memo or any recent executive orders. This includes stop-work orders issued to campus and our PIs on specific grants. Our researchers, faculty, and staff should continue working on their grants as usual.

Litigation is ongoing, and we continue to monitor developments closely. If you receive any notices from federal or associated local agencies related to executive orders or other federal actions, please continue to send to researchadmincomm@cuanschutz.edu so we can review and provide appropriate guidance. If you have other questions regarding federal transition impacts, please send to federaltransition@cuanschutz.edu.

We are working closely with university leadership, our federal relations team, legal experts, and national partners to assess these changes and their potential impact on our academic, research, clinical, and public service missions. 

To support this effort, we are launching the CU Anschutz Federal Transition Updates website where you can find timely updates and resources, and a link to submit questions to the transition compliance team. Additional details, including FAQs, can also be found through the University of Colorado system office here. 

Thank you for your attention, and please know that we are here to support you during this period of transition.

Don Elliman
Chancellor