Trump Presses Harvard to Turn Over Foreign Funding Records - Minute Briefing

Wall Street Journal

18-04-2025

Full Transcript
This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated.
Zoe Kuhlkin: Here's your midday brief for Friday, April 18th, I'm Zoe Kuhlkin for The Wall Street Journal. We're exclusively reporting that the Trump administration is pressing Harvard University to hand in records on the money it receives from foreign sources going back a decade. It's the latest move in a growing pressure campaign against the nation's most prominent university. In a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber yesterday, the Department of Education said it was the administration's first step to ensure Harvard is not being manipulated by or doing the bidding of foreign entities. The letter provided no evidence that was occurring. In a statement, Harvard said, it has filed all necessary reports for decades complying with the law. The European Union has delayed penalizing Apple and Meta Platforms, avoiding temporarily a conflict with the Trump administration during a week that saw the block build up its push for a trade deal with the United States. The rulings are still expected to go ahead and it isn't immediately clear how long the delay might last. A State Department spokesperson said a Chinese satellite company has been aiding Houthi attacks on U.S. interests, showing Beijing and Moscow's increased support for the Yemeni rebel group. China has said it has worked to reduce tensions in the Red Sea since the situation escalated, implying that the U.S. was making them worse. A reminder, the markets are closed today for Easter, so we will not publish a closing bell briefing tonight. We'll have more coverage of the day's news on the WSJ's "What's News," podcast. You can add it to your playlist on your smart speaker or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.