Catalyst Biweekly Policy Briefing: Issue XX: Leadership in Limbo

Hello again.

Let’s get to it. Here’s a look at what has happened.

Catch up on our previous installments here.

THE FACTS

EXECUTIVE POWER & FEDERAL FUNDING​​

• Last Tuesday, President Trump announced on social media that his audit of the Smithsonian would be only the beginning, and that other museums would follow. He also criticized museums for showing “how bad slavery was.”
  • A few days later, the White House released a list of exhibitions it labeled offensive, including a stop-motion portrait of Dr. Anthony Fauci, several LGBTQ+-focused works, and multiple anti-racist pieces. It is unclear what the administration intends to do with or about the artwork, but a number of artists have spoken out about being on the list.
  • The American Alliance of Museums released a statement expressing concern over the chilling effect on museums nationwide and the pressure they are feeling to censor exhibitions, saying that “Freedom of thought and expression are foundational American values.”
  • In San Diego, Balboa Park includes more than a dozen museums that could face scrutiny if the administration expands audits across the country. They include the Centro Cultural de Raza, which celebrates Chicano, Mexican, Latinx, and Indigenous art and culture and often features exhibitions focused on the San Diego-Tijuana border; the Fleet Science Center, which prides itself on creating inclusive experiences and currently features an exhibition celebrating queer and intersectional scientists; and the World Beat Center, whose mission is “promoting, presenting and preserving the African Diaspora and Indigenous cultures.”
• CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired Wednesday after refusing to dismiss agency leaders and approve vaccine policy changes that were not backed by data.
  • This move follows Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s June disbanding of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which he replaced with vaccine skeptics.
  • Not long after Monarez was fired, three other top staffers resigned, citing Kennedy’s disregard for CDC expertise in decision-making.
  • Kennedy’s new COVID-19 vaccine policy restricts updated vaccines to people at higher risk of complications because they are 65 or older or have other health conditions. It also scales back recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women – limits that experts warn will make vaccines harder to access.
  • The American Academy of Pediatrics quickly opposed the restrictions and released its own evidence-based recommendations; the first time the group has ever diverged from CDC guidance.

• Meanwhile, President Trump also fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook this week after she refused to resign. On Thursday, Cook filed a lawsuit calling the dismissal illegal. Under federal law, Federal Reserve governors can only be removed “for cause.” The case could test the limits of presidential power.

CENSUS & REDISTRICTING

• Typically non-partisan exercises, the census and redistricting have taken on a decidedly political bent.
  • Census data is used to apportion Congressional representation, determine funding for health, education, and infrastructure projects, and decide where to place new businesses and housing. The president has suggested that only citizens should be counted, contrary to the Constitutional mandate to count “all persons.”
  • District maps determine who votes in which elections, and the makeup of voters decides which parties hold power. Triggered by actions in Texas, California and other states are moving to redraw district lines in a fight for control of the House of Representatives.
  • Democrats are lining up to compete to represent the 48th Congressional District, a seat currently held by Republican Darrell Issa.
• Foundations from across California gathered on Thursday at an event hosted by Philanthropy California, the League of California Community Foundations, the James Irvine Foundation, the State Office of Community Partnerships & Strategic Communications, and the Census Equity Initiative.
  • To launch coordination and organizing to “get out the count,” Catalyst and our Philanthropy California partners joined foundations and community leaders in person to discuss what it will take to have a complete count of all Californians in 2030.
• On August 23, Texas legislators approved gerrymandered maps that carve out five new Republican districts. The plan was immediately challenged in a lawsuit filed by the League of United Latin American Citizens.
  • Earlier that week, in response to the Texas maps, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Election Rigging Response Act. The legislative package authorizes a special election to be held on November 4, 2025, to vote on Proposition 50, which would gerrymander California’s maps to flip five Republican seats to Democratic seats, effectively neutralizing the partisan shifts created by the new Texas districts.
  • Proposition 50 would temporarily redraw California’s maps, with the independent redistricting commission typically in charge of drawing the maps resuming its role after the 2030 census.
  • The move was challenged by California Republicans, but the state Supreme Court declined to block the proposal from going to voters.
  • The president is pressuring more states to follow Texas’ lead and redraw their maps before the 2026 midterms to bolster Republican control of the House.
  • House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned that if more states follow Texas’ lead, Democratic-leaning states will respond in kind by following California’s example.
  • A district court in Utah has ordered the state to redraw its maps before the 2026 elections, sparking outrage from the president. He urged Utah legislators to ensure the Republican majority in the state is preserved.
  • There have been 54 legal challenges to congressional maps since the 2020 census.

EDUCATION

• The Education Department released a rule for public comments on August 18 that would amend the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to exclude employers that engage in activities deemed illegal by the administration. The proposal gives the education secretary broad authority to decide which entities could be excluded, including those involved in illegal immigration, “supporting foreign terrorist organizations,” and some forms of gender-affirming care. The public has until September 17 to comment on the proposed changes.
• The Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that any federally funded sexual health education program in 46 states and six territories that refuses to remove all mentions of gender identity or transgender people will have its funding rescinded. California was not included in the letter.
  • The $12 million grant for California’s Personal Responsibility Education Program, or PREP, had already been rescinded after the state refused to remove information about gender identity from the program. PREP primarily provides sex education to high-need teens in juvenile justice facilities, homeless shelters, and foster care group homes.

OUR REGION

• Immigration enforcement near San Diego County schools has sparked concern from residents and prompted action from city councils.
  • On August 15, the father of a Montgomery High School student was arrested near the school in South San Diego during morning drop-off. It was one of four confirmed immigration arrests near a San Diego County school in the past few weeks. ICE officials have said agents are not specifically targeting schools and that the arrests have not occurred on school property.
  • In Encinitas, city leaders approved several actions, including launching a “Know Your Rights” campaign, exploring a ban on face coverings worn by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and potentially joining lawsuits with other cities challenging ICE operations. The moves came after residents packed a City Council meeting last week, following the arrest of a father during school drop-off hours near his daughter’s elementary school in the Encinitas district.
  • In Escondido, city leaders sent a letter to the San Diego County’s congressional delegation urging support for increased resources for border security and immigration court systems, as well as a clearer path to citizenship. Escondido has the highest rate of ICE arrests among North County cities.
• Meanwhile, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 along party lines Tuesday to take a first step toward allowing the county to use part of its $3 billion reserve fund to offset federal revenue losses. Advocates have long called on the county to use these funds, and Democratic supervisors said the changes – which require a second vote – would unlock $380 million over four years to help meet critical healthcare, food, and public safety needs. Republican official Jim Desmond called the move “reckless.”

THE TAKEAWAYS: What Philanthropy Can (and Is!) Doing

• After funding was stripped from public broadcasting by the Trump administration, closing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and putting hundreds of local outlets at risk of shuttering, the Public Media Company launched the Public Media Bridge Fund. Six philanthropic organizations recently announced a $37 million commitment to assist public media funding repeals from the federal government, including $26.5 million to go to the Bridge Fund.
• The Black Freedom Fund, which invests in leaders and organizations in Black communities, made national news as an independent community foundation expanding its vision from a five-year $5 million initiative to a permanent effort building a $200 million endowment. The fund renamed itself from its original California Black Freedom Fund to reflect more nationally focused goals.

RESOURCES

• It’s time to register! Join colleagues at Catalyst’s 2025 annual conference on Friday, October 3, in National City. Bright Spots will explore the bold leadership and collective action that is making a difference in our communities in the face of tremendous challenge.
• Check out The United Philanthropy Forum’s Virtual Policy Institute on November 5, 2025. The virtual forum will bring together philanthropic leaders and advocates to collaborate and strengthen advocacy capacity across the sector.
• Join our local contingent at CalNonprofits’ (the California Association of Nonprofits)  annual policy conference in Los Angeles, also on November 5. We are forming a border region coalition among a group of funders and nonprofits that will attend. Check the agenda and let us know if you want to be included in the group preparation, travel coordination, and debrief.

Talk to you soon,

Megan Thomas
President & CEO
Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties