federal government | FFXnow

Published September 3, 2025 at 3:45PM | Updated September 4, 2025 at 12:09PM

Inova Fairfax Medical Campus patient drop-off (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Almost two months after President Donald Trump signed his so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law, the legislation’s health care implications remain hazy.

Adopted on July 4, the federal budget reconciliation package introduced a number of changes to Medicaid, Medicare and the marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that could lead to an additional 10 million uninsured people in the U.S. by 2034, according to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) most recent estimates.

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BREAKING: FCPS sues Education Department for freezing funding over transgender policies

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 29, 2025 at 2:55PM

A community member waves an LGBTQ pride flag at the rally protesting Virginia's model policies on transgender students (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Fairfax County School Board is suing the Trump administration for withholding federal funds in retaliation for its refusal to scrap policies supporting transgender students.

At its meeting last night (Thursday), its first of the new academic year, the school board authorized a lawsuit against the U.S. Education Department alleging that its denial of funds to Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) violates federal laws and the Constitution, Superintendent Michelle Reid announced today.

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Advocates for immigrants allege ‘degrading’ conditions at ICE office in Chantilly

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 29, 2025 at 1:45PM | Updated August 29, 2025 at 6:26PM

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Washington Field Office in Chantilly (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Chantilly field office, typically used for administrative proceedings, is being turned into a “makeshift” detention facility, dozens of immigrant rights advocacy groups say.

With arrests surging during the ongoing federal takeover of D.C., ICE has begun detaining individuals for “several days at a time” in a holding room intended to keep people just for a few hours during processing, according to organizations in the Free Them All VA Coalition.

News

Fairfax County board backs GMU president facing pressure from Trump administration

By Scott McCaffrey

Published August 27, 2025 at 10:00AM | Updated February 5, 2026 at 7:36PM

George Mason University President Gregory Washington delivers his annual report to the Board of Visitors at its Aug. 1, 2025 meeting (via GMU)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors went on record yesterday (Tuesday) supporting George Mason University President Gregory Washington as “a critical partner” of the county government and local residents.

The action, taken at the request of Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay, came amid scrutiny of Washington and the university he heads by the Trump administration.

News

Dulles receives $7 million in federal funds to improve airport taxiways

By Scott McCaffrey

Published August 26, 2025 at 1:45PM

An United Airlines plane taxiing at Dulles International Airport (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (WMAA) will receive nearly $7 million in federal funding to support taxiway reconstructions at Dulles International Airport.

The $6.8 million in funding represents the second-largest amount among 18 aviation-related projects approved statewide by the Federal Aviation Administration. Funding comes from a $25 billion appropriation in the 2021 Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act.

News

Trump administration demands apology from GMU president for diversity practices

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 25, 2025 at 8:30AM | Updated February 5, 2026 at 7:36PM

George Mason University President Gregory Washington delivers his annual report to the Board of Visitors at its Aug. 1, 2025 meeting (via GMU)

George Mason University’s efforts to diversify its workforce violate a civil rights law intended to end segregation, according to the Trump administration.

Following a roughly six-week-long investigation of GMU’s hiring practices, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has found that the Northern Virginia-based university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race in public education.

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Trump administration moves to cut off funding for FCPS, punishing support for transgender students

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 20, 2025 at 8:30AM

Students hold trans rights and LGBTQ Pride flag signs at a rally protesting Virginia's model policies on transgender students outside Luther Jackson Middle School (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Trump administration appears to be following through on its threat to withhold federal funds from public schools in Northern Virginia after they refused to roll back policies that support transgender and gender non-conforming students.

The U.S. Education Department announced yesterday (Tuesday) that it has placed Fairfax County Public Schools and the school systems in Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William and Loudoun on “high-risk status,” a move that it claims lets it attach specific conditions for releasing funding.

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BREAKING: FCPS rejects Trump administration demand that it scrap trans-inclusive policies

By Angela Woolsey

Published August 15, 2025 at 3:50PM | Updated August 15, 2025 at 8:44PM

A Trans Day of Visibility rally outside a school board meeting at Luther Jackson Middle School (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

Fairfax County Public Schools is joining its counterparts across Northern Virginia in rejecting the Trump administration’s demands that it rescind policies supporting transgender and gender-nonconforming students.

In a message to FCPS staff and families, Superintendent Michelle Reid says she has sent a response to the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) defending the school system’s policies as consistent with existing state and federal law, requesting that the federal government pause any further action until the issue is “clarified” by the courts.

News

NASA remains tight-lipped about Discovery space shuttle transfer plans

By Vernon Miles

Published August 12, 2025 at 10:00AM

Space Shuttle Discovery on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

One month after Congress passed a federal budget bill with a provision directing NASA to transfer a space shuttle to Texas, the space agency remains tight-lipped on any impending relocation plans.

The bill, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, requires acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy to identify a space vehicle to transfer to a NASA field center. The requirements stipulate that the ship must have flown into space, carried astronauts, and is selected with the concurrence of a nonprofit entity designated by the administrator.

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Fairfax prosecutor slams federal government for ‘fearmongering’ around crime

By Jared Serre

Published August 7, 2025 at 1:45PM

Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano (staff photo by Jared Serre)

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano took a swing at the federal government yesterday (Wednesday), claiming that the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is making it harder for prosecutors to effectively do their jobs.

“The first thing that I hear in our community over and over again is, not only does the federal government focus on fearmongering around crime, but they’re taking it a step further now by actually creating a culture of fear around law enforcement,” Descano said.