Beltway Buzz, September 12, 2025

Government Shutdown Clock. Federal funding expires at 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on September 30, 2025. However, as the Buzz recently explained, because the U.S. Congress is scheduled to be out the week beginning September 22, 2025, lawmakers have only seven legislative days to reach a deal.

FTC Drops Defense of Noncompete Ban. Late last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed motions with two separate appeals courts voluntarily dismissing its defense of the Biden-era regulation that banned noncompete agreements. This is not terribly surprising, as current FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson dissented from the initial promulgation of the rule, writing, “We do not have the power to issue the Final Rule … the Federal Trade Commission Act does not authorize the Commission to make substantive rules regulating private conduct.”

NLRB Acting GC: Injunctions Still on the Table. On September 5, 2025, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel (GC) William B. Cowen issued a memorandum, entitled, “Proceedings Under Section 10(j) of the Act.” The memo advises regional directors to “continue to assess whether interim injunctive relief is appropriate in each case” and emphasizes that certain unfair labor practices, “such as discharges during an organizing campaign … [and] withdrawals of recognition from incumbent unions,” warrant such relief. Acting GC Cowen previously rescinded multiple memos relating to 10(j) injunctions that were issued by his predecessor, Jennifer Abruzzo, but this memo dispels any notions that he is abandoning the 10(j) program. The memo further reminds regional directors that they now must adhere to the traditional four-factor test for preliminary injunctions announced by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2024.

State Department Limits Third Country National Processing. On September 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs announced that nonimmigrant visa applicants “should schedule their visa interview appointments at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their country of nationality or residence.” With limited exceptions, this change limits the practice of third-country national processing, in which the applicant applies for a nonimmigrant visa at a location that is not the applicant’s country of citizenship or residency. The move creates more red tape for workers and employers operating in a global economy.

USCIS to Increase Law Enforcement Activities. On September 5, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final rule allowing “USCIS personnel to investigate and enforce civil and criminal violations of the immigration laws within the jurisdiction of USCIS.” Following Executive Order 14159, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” on May 2, 2025, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delegated “to the Director of USCIS the authority to conduct additional law enforcement activities to enforce civil and criminal violations of immigration laws within the jurisdiction of USCIS.” The final rule codifies certain provisions of this delegation. According to a press release accompanying the final rule, the “authorities provided to USCIS include making arrests, carrying firearms, executing search and arrest warrants, and other powers standard for federal law enforcement.” The press release also states that USCIS plans to recruit and train special agents to carry out these enforcement activities. The move is a continued example of USCIS’s shift from service provider to enforcement agency.

Bill Would Allow Striking Workers to Collect UI. Democrats in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced the Empowering Striking Workers Act, which would allow striking workers to collect unemployment insurance (UI). The bill would amend federal law to create an exception to a foundational requirement of the federal/state unemployment insurance program that a UI claimant “must be able to work, available to work, and actively seeking work.” Allowing striking workers to receive UI payments would obviously have an impact on the “economic weapons” that both management and labor unions may wield during labor disputes. New York, New Jersey, and—effective in 2026—Oregon and Washington allow striking workers to receive UI benefits.

A Man, a Plan, a Canal. On September 7, 1977, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian Chief of Government Omar Torrijos signed two treaties—referred to as the “Torrijos–Carter Treaties”—relating to control over the Panama Canal. The first, known as the “Neutrality Treaty,” ensures that the United States permanently retains the right to defend the canal from any threats that might disrupt the free flow of neutral ships through it. The second, “The Panama Canal Treaty,” turned over control of the canal to Panama, effective December 31, 1999. The treaties superseded the Hay–Bunau–Varilla Treaty, which was signed in 1903 during President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration and granted the United States permanent rights over the Panama Canal Zone. The Torrijos–Carter Treaties were ratified by the U.S. Senate by identical votes of 68 to 32 in March and April of 1978. Many Republicans were unhappy with the treaties and viewed the action as unnecessarily giving up a strategic asset of the United States. A prominent critic was Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC), who stated, “The canal is ours, and we bought and we paid for it and we should keep it.”