
Harvard Slams Trump Administration Funding Cuts in Pivotal Court Hearing
A federal judge heard arguments from a team of attorneys for Harvard University and its chapter of the American Association of University Professors and from a lawyer for the federal government, peppering them with questions as Harvard cast its arguments as a First Amendment case and the government sought to frame it as simply a dispute over money and contracts.
The hearing marked a pivotal moment in the fight between Harvard and the Trump administration in an unprecedented case that is being watched by all of higher education.
Harvard has challenged the administration's move to slash billions of dollars in federal funding with critical scientific research and the autonomy of the nearly 400-year-old university on the line. The administration's lawyer said the government froze the funding because the school had not done enough to combat antisemitism.
Both sides had asked the judge to issue a ruling in the case without a trial, but U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ended the hearing without rendering a decision. Burroughs acknowledged that both sides want a rapid resolution; Harvard, in particular, has pleaded urgency in hopes that the funding terminations will not become final.
Steven P. Lehotsky, who argued for Harvard, called the government's actions a blatant, unrepentant violation of the First Amendment, touching a 'constitutional third rail' that threatened the academic freedom of private universities.
The lone attorney for the government cast the case as a fight over billions of dollars. 'Harvard is here because it wants the money,' said Michael Velchik, a Justice Department lawyer. But the government can choke the flow of taxpayer dollars to institutions that show a 'deliberate indifference to antisemitism,' he said.
President Donald Trump reacted to the hearing Monday afternoon with a post on social media about the judge. 'She is a TOTAL DISASTER, which I say even before hearing her Ruling.' He called Harvard 'anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and anti-America.'
'How did this Trump-hating Judge get these cases? When she rules against us, we will IMMEDIATELY appeal, and WIN. Also, the Government will stop the practice of giving many Billions of Dollars to Harvard,' he said.
Spokespeople for Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday about the president's remarks.
Peter McDonough, vice president and general counsel at the American Council on Education, said all of higher education could be impacted by the case. 'And I don't think it is too dramatic to say that Americans and the constitutional protections that they value are in court,' he said.
'Freedom of speech is on trial, due process is on trial,' he said, with the executive branch of the government essentially charged with having violated those rights.
The administration has engaged in intense efforts to force changes in higher education, which it has said has been captured by leftist ideology and has not done enough to combat antisemitism in the wake of protests at some colleges over the Israel-Gaza war.
Its biggest target has been Harvard.
The administration announced earlier this year that it would review nearly $9 billion in federal funding to the school and its affiliates, including local hospitals whose physicians teach at Harvard Medical School. In April, a letter from a federal antisemitism task force, alluding to civil rights law, demanded that the university upend its governance, hiring, student discipline and admissions, and submit to years-long federal oversight over multiple aspects of its operations.
Harvard refused to comply.
Hours later, the administration announced it would freeze more than $2 billion in federal research grants to Harvard. It has also launched multiple investigations into the Ivy League institution's operations, threatened to revoke the school's tax-exempt status, and moved to block its ability to enroll international students.
Harvard filed a lawsuit challenging the funding cuts, and later filed another to counter the administration's effort to block international students and scholars from Harvard. In the latter case, Burroughs twice ruled swiftly in Harvard's favor, allowing the university to continue welcoming non-U.S. students while the case proceeds.
On Monday, Harvard's lawyers argued that the government violated the school's First Amendment rights and ignored the requirements of federal civil rights law, and that its actions were unlawfully arbitrary and capricious.
Any claim that Harvard is simply interested in getting money back is 'just false,' Lehotsky said. 'We're here for our constitutional rights.'
He called the government's actions an end-run around Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and compared it to the scene in 'Alice in Wonderland' in which the queen orders that the sentence comes first then the verdict afterward, with the funding freeze preceding the investigation required by statute.
'The government now says Title VI is totally irrelevant,' he said, arguing it had cooked up a post hoc rationale.
Harvard had asked the judge to grant a summary judgment, set aside the funding freezes and terminations, and block any similar actions as soon as possible before Sept. 3, after which the university believes the government will take the position that restoration of the funds is not possible.
Velchik, the Justice Department attorney – himself a Harvard alumnus – defended the government's decisions to slash the university's funding in response to what he said was its failure to tackle antisemitism.
'Harvard does not have a monopoly on the truth,' he said. Those same funds would be 'better spent going to HBCUs or community colleges.'
The government canceled the grants under an obscure regulation that allows it to terminate funding when they no longer align with agency priorities. 'Harvard should have read the fine print,' Velchik said.
Although Burroughs pushed both sides to justify their arguments, she appeared skeptical of the administration's rationale for the cuts.
She repeatedly pressed the government on what process it had followed in deciding to terminate a major portion of Harvard's federal funding.
'This is a big stumbling block for me,' she said, even as she acknowledged the government had argued some of its points well. (A 'Harvard education is paying off for you,' she told Velchik.)
Burroughs noted that the government had apparently slashed Harvard's funding without following any established procedure or even examining the steps Harvard itself had taken to combat antisemitism.
If the administration can base its decision on reasons connected to protected speech, Burroughs said, the consequences for 'constitutional law are staggering.'
At one point, Velchik appeared to grow emotional. He spoke about wanting to go to Harvard since he was a child, then seeing the campus 'besieged by protesters' and hearing about Jewish students wearing baseball caps to hide their kippot, a visible sign of their identity. 'It's sick. Federal taxpayers should not support this,' he said.
Burroughs also spoke about the case in unusually personal terms. 'I am both Jewish and American,' she said. Harvard itself has acknowledged antisemitism as an issue, she said.
But 'what is the connection to cutting off funding to Alzheimer's or cancer research?' she asked. 'One could argue it hurts Americans and Jews.'
A complaint by Harvard's chapter of the American Association of University Professors against the administration, filed before the university took action, is being heard concurrently with Harvard's case.
In its court filings, the Justice Department urged Burroughs to reject Harvard's request for summary judgment.
Summary judgment is a motion in which a party in a civil suit asks a judge to decide a case before it goes to trial.
To win a summary judgment, the party filing the motion must show there is no genuine dispute over the central facts of the case and they would prevail on the legal merits if the case were to go to trial.
Harvard supporters, with crimson colored shirts, signs and hats along with American flag pins, crowded around the main entrance of the John Joseph Moakley federal courthouse Monday afternoon. About 100 alumni, faculty, staff and students rallied in a joint protest with the Crimson Courage alumni group and supporters of the American Association of University Professors union.
'What the federal administration is doing is basically co-opting American values for their own political ends, and we are determined to say this is not what America is about,' said Evelyn J. Kim, a co-chair of the Crimson Courage communications team and a 1995 Harvard graduate. 'America is about the values that allow for Harvard to exist.'
Walter Willett, 80, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, biked to the rally to deliver a speech to the group. In May, $3.6 million of National Institutes of Health grant money that funded Willett's research on breast cancer and women's and men's health was cut, he said. It is critical to push back against the administration, Willett said. 'In this case, our basic freedom – what we're fighting for – is also at stake.'
The stakes are high – and not just for Harvard.
More than a dozen amicus briefs filed in support of Harvard argue that the administration is imperiling academic freedom, the autonomy of institutions of higher education and the decades-long research partnership between universities and the federal government.
Eighteen former officials who served in past Democratic and Republican administrations noted in a brief that they were aware of no instances in more than 40 years where federal funds had been terminated under Title VI, the provision of civil rights law that Trump officials have in some cases cited in slashing Harvard's grants.
The administration received outside support in a brief filed by the attorneys general of 16 states, led by Iowa. 'There are apparently three constant truths in American life: death, taxes, and Harvard University's discrimination against Jews,' it said, citing Harvard's own internal report on antisemitism on campus.
Harvard has taken numerous steps to address antisemitism after protests over the Israel-Gaza war in the 2023-2024 academic year sparked concerns from some Jewish and Israeli students, but the administration has repeatedly said the problem persists and must be acted upon forcefully.
James McAffrey, 22, a senior and first-generation college student from Oklahoma, co-chairs the Harvard Students for Freedom, a student group that joined the rally Monday to support the school.
He said the administration's actions pose a threat to the nation's well-being.
'I think the reality is it's time for us to root out the evils of anti-Americanism in the Trump administration,' he said.
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The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
Bill Emmott: Japan should lead regional collaboration to cope with Trump 'typhoon'
By Bill Emmott, independent writer, lecturer and international affairs consultant During all the decades of the U.S.-Japan security alliance, which has been one of the closest security partnerships anywhere in the world, Japan has had to worry about two contradictory dangers: abandonment and entrapment. Abandonment would involve Japan's interests being ignored by its partner amid a deal with one of its enemies; entrapment would mean being forced to fight alongside the United States in a war chosen by the Americans but not by the Japanese. These worries about extreme outcomes have tended to alternate, depending on the political mood in Washington, DC, at the time. Yet currently Japan finds itself worrying about both abandonment and entrapment simultaneously. This may be as good a sign as any that the Trump administration represents a sharp break with the postwar past. The entrapment fear has always felt the likelier danger. It has now reared its head again in a surprising way, as senior US defence officials have been reported to have been pressing Japan and Australia to make explicit commitments about whether they would fight to defend Taiwan in the event of an attempted Chinese invasion or coercion. The surprise is that American officials are pressing such close allies for an explicit commitment when not even the United States itself, and especially not its Commander in Chief, President Donald Trump, has made its own intentions clear. This is not a total break with recent American administrations, but it does put Japan in a potentially awkward position. During the Biden administration a mutual concern over the security and stability of Taiwan did begin to feature in the US-Japan communiques issued after meetings between the Japanese prime minister and the U.S. president, showing that some sort of explicit commitment to working together to preserve the status quo was being sought by the United States. However, that is not the same, at least not politically the same, as actually committing yourself to fight a future war, in circumstances that cannot be predicted and without knowing what America's own stance would be. To do so would be politically extremely difficult, especially for a government that currently lacks a majority in the Diet. Beyond domestic politics, the immediate risk would not be of a war itself but rather of such a commitment causing a further worsening of Japan's relations with China, to no obvious purpose. Abandonment has always looked the less likely of the twin dangers, for having Japan as its largest overseas military base has mattered so much to America and its regional presence in the Indo-Pacific that the idea of it deserting its Japanese ally has looked implausible. This remains true, especially given the emphasis being laid by leading figures in the Pentagon and the Republican Party on the contest with China for both regional and global supremacy. However, President Trump is well known to be highly transactional, especially in foreign policy. He has also indicated a strong sympathy for the very 19th century idea that great powers are entitled to have "spheres of influence" in the areas around their own borders. He has, for example, expressed a determination that America should gain control over Greenland, the icy territory that is part of Denmark but adjacent to the north-east coast of the United States, has declared that Canada should become the U.S.'s "51st State," and has insisted the U.S. should regain control over the Panama Canal. This makes it conceivable, even if still improbable, that at some point Trump could be tempted to accept Chinese control over its "sphere" of Taiwan and the South China Sea in return for China accepting US control over territories in its region. That would give China control over the main sea lanes surrounding Japan and a greatly increased ability to intimidate other countries in the region, including Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. This is, admittedly, a rather extreme scenario. The identification by most members of Trump's Republican Party of China as America's leading global adversary, and the strong support for Taiwan held by those same Republicans, makes it feel especially unlikely. Yet the fact that the idea of such a "grand bargain" with China is talked about at all simply underlines how unpredictable is the foreign policy of this American president, with the range of actions and outcomes during the remaining three and a half years of his term looking wider than under any U.S. president in living memory. The governments of every longstanding ally of the United States are having to live with this uncertainty, one which reflects a broader question: using a meteorological metaphor, does Trump represent a temporary extreme-weather event, like an especially severe typhoon, or does he represent climate change, a trend that will endure? The safest answer is that he is a bit of both: his extreme volatility and hostile manner can be seen as personal and thus temporary, but some of the ideas he is purveying have a broader resonance in the United States that could persist after he is gone. The central role that America plays in the security of the Indo-Pacific gives Japan little choice other than to adapt to whatever extreme weather emerges from Washington, DC. The more forward-leaning stance Japan has taken on defence, first under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and then with the new National Security Strategy under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in 2022, has had the dual purpose of increasing Japan's contribution to joint deterrence operations with America and creating more long-term options for national security in case relations with Washington become more fractured. Continuing and even enhancing this strategy remains Japan's only viable plan. What Japan could perhaps invest even more time in is in its already impressive diplomatic efforts in north-east and south-east Asia. To cope with the Trump "typhoon" and to increase Japan's own leverage over Washington at any time of crisis, it makes sense to work more closely with other countries that face the same pressures, starting with South Korea but also extending south to Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan itself. All these countries are facing hostility from Trump over trade while also needing to invest more in their own security and economic resilience, in a region in which the two superpowers, China and the U.S., are both unavoidable presences but also habitual bullies. It therefore makes sense to work together on trade, technology, security and other issues as much as possible, to increase bargaining power as well as resilience. Japan has a key role, as well as opportunity, to drive this regional collaboration. The contradictory fears of entrapment and abandonment can never be eliminated, but through collaboration they can perhaps be mitigated.

Nikkei Asia
an hour ago
- Nikkei Asia
Thai-Cambodia clashes live: Trump seeks ceasefire, calls both sides
BANGKOK -- Military clashes between Thailand and Cambodia entered a second day on Friday, leaving "more than 20 deaths" in Thailand, according to the acting Thai prime minister, and one civilian dead in Cambodia. More than 130,000 people have been evacuated in Thailand, while Thai financial institutions with branches in Cambodia are gradually repatriating staff. Here are recent Nikkei Asia analysis and opinion articles on the crisis: - With war in mind, Thai military rolls out battle plans on Cambodia front - Cambodia seeks justice, not conflict, in border dispute with Thailand - Hun Sen's gamble: Why Cambodia ex-ruler turned on Thai ally Thaksin Follow the latest developments in this live blog. (Thailand and Cambodia time) For Thursday's developments, visit our previous live blog. July 26 10:45 p.m. U.S. President Donald Trump says he is seeking a ceasefire to the conflict, making calls to the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia. "I have just spoken to the Acting Prime Minister of Thailand, and it was a very good conversation. Thailand, like Cambodia, wants to have an immediate Ceasefire, and PEACE," Trump posts on Truth Social, adding he will relay the message to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. "After speaking to both Parties, Ceasefire, Peace, and Prosperity seems to be a natural. We will soon see!" Trump writes. July 25 9:17 p.m. Col. Richa Suksuwanont, deputy spokesperson for the Royal Thai Army, announces a total loss of six military personnel, as of 8 p.m., during national defense operations in the clashes that broke out July 24. 8:33 p.m. The Thai government "agrees with in principle and will consider" Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's mediation effort for a ceasefire, but "any ceasefire must be based on appropriate on-the-ground conditions," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says in a social media post. It claims that Cambodian forces have continued attacks on Thai territory and their actions "demonstrate a lack of good faith." 8:30 p.m. Thailand declares martial law for eight districts in provinces of Chanthaburi and Trat, both near the Cambodia border, effective immediately. "This action has become unavoidably necessary to mobilize military, police, civilian forces, and the Thai public to defend the country from external threats to the Kingdom," the statement said. Martial law is implemented in Trat province's Khao Saming district and the following districts in Chanthaburi province: Mueang Chanthaburi, Tha Mai, Makham, Laem Sing, Kaeng Hang Maeo, Na Yai Am and Khao Khitchakut. 5:45 p.m. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet posts on social media about his position on the call for an immediate ceasefire, which was suggested by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to Thai and Cambodian leaders on Thursday. "Cambodia agreed with his proposal for a ceasefire because Cambodia did not initiate this fighting," he said. According to Hun Manet, he received an initial response that the Thai side had agreed to his proposal for a ceasefire at midnight. "However, it is regrettable that just over an hour later, the Thai side informed that they had reversed their position from agreeing to the ceasefire at 12:00 AM on 24 July 2025, to not agreeing and waiting for a later date," he said. 5:20 p.m. At a news conference, Cambodia's Ministry of Defense spokesperson Maly Socheata detailed three separate attacks reported from the front lines. She said that Thailand had made four F-16 strikes at around noon near the ancient Preah Vihear temple complex and another contested temple site, Ta Krabei. Additionally, Thai strikes had hit Samraong town in Oddar Meanchey province, injuring children and elderly people. "The most regretful thing is that it affected children. In addition, it has completely destroyed the electricity grid in Samraong," she said. She added that four munitions had landed at the Monorom Primary School in Banteay Ampil district, Oddar Meanchey province, citing information from the Education Ministry. 4:20 p.m. The Thai Red Cross Society has launched a nationwide blood donation campaign. The drive is to replenish blood reserves and essential supplies for hospitals in the border regions affected by recent clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces. 3:10 p.m. Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts briefed members of the Preah Vihear temple's governing body, detailing the damage incurred after Thai armed forces allegedly used "heavy artillery" and "bombs from F-16s" at the heritage site and surrounding areas. This included visible damage to four entranceways at the temple and other structures at the site. The ministry also released photos and a map of the site where damage had occurred. 2:30 p.m. Thai army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvaree called Cambodia's allegations that Preah Vihear Temple was damaged due to Thai attacks "a clear distortion of the facts." "The Preah Vihear Temple was not within the direction or scope of Thai military operations," Winthai said in a statement. He made the comment after Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts said Thursday that Thailand's "aggression" has "caused significant damage to both the surrounding area and the structures" of the UNESCO World Heritage site. 2:05 p.m. Indonesian State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said he hoped that the Thai-Cambodia tensions will not intensify as it could have wider repercussions, including on Indonesia. He added, though, that the government would refrain from commenting on domestic political situations of other countries. About 166,000 Indonesians work in Cambodia and more than 2,300 live in Thailand, so the Indonesian foreign ministry is monitoring the situation closely. "We will ensure the safety of our citizens. And if anything happens, we have mitigation measures in place," Hadi said. 1:50 p.m. Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, the spokesperson of Thailand's ad hoc center for the border said the Ministry of Interior has now evacuated more than 130,000 civilians from Buriram, Surin, Sisaket and Ubon-Ratchathani provinces. "The provinces have established evacuation shelters capable of accommodating over 300,000 people and deployed village security units to ensure the safety of civilians in various areas," he said. He added the Ministry of Public Health has evacuated 11 hospitals. 1:10 p.m. Thai financial institutions with branches in Cambodia are gradually repatriating staff, according to the Bank of Thailand's Assistant Governor Suwannee Jatsadasak. "All of them are expected to return by today," she said, adding that some branches in the border provinces have been closed. "As for impacts to Thailand, uncertainty remains in many dimensions, and it is too soon to make assessments. BOT will continue to monitor the situation closely," she said. 1 p.m. Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, spokesperson of Thailand's ad hoc center for the border situation, told reporters that as of 8:30 a.m., the Cambodian forces continued to use heavy weapons to attack the front lines and rear areas, affecting civilians. Clashes have been reported in 12 locations, according to Surasant. 12:40 p.m. Thailand's Interior Ministry said it had evacuated 100,672 civilians from the four provinces affected by the cross-border clashes with Cambodia. A total of 56,000 people were moved in Surin province, 17,196 in Sisaket, 17,000 in Buriram and 10,476 people in Ubon Ratchathari. 12:30 p.m. The Thai armed forces said it believes Hun Sen, the former Cambodian prime minister, is behind the attack on civilian targets, calling for international organizations to investigate. "Targeting civilians with intent is a war crime, and those responsible must be brought to justice," Maj. Gen. Vithai Laithomya, spokesperson of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, said in a statement. "Based on the available evidence, it is believed that the Cambodian government, led by Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, is behind these heartbreaking attacks." 12:15 p.m. The contested areas on the Thai-Cambodia border are in the Thai provinces of Buriram, Surin, Sisaket and Ubon-Ratchathani and the Cambodian provinces of Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vinear. Two of the biggest flashpoints are the Prasat Ta Moan Thom and Preah Vihear temples. 11:25 a.m. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters that he had received reports of "more than 20 deaths" and several people severely injured. He also talked about his conversation with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who spoke to the leaders of both sides calling for an immediate ceasefire, on Thursday evening. "I told him I'm OK with it in principle. But to specify [the] exact time and date, I ask Cambodia first to prove their intention that they really mean it," he said. "We've been adhering to the principle of peace and trying to request negotiation, but they never cared, and it is us who always proposed... conditions. It shows their lack of sincerity." 11:20 a.m. The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) released a statement Friday saying that ground reports from local authorities and demining teams showed that Thailand had used cluster munitions in populated areas around Phnom Khmuoch, near the border. "The use of cluster munitions -- especially in or near civilian areas -- is an unacceptable escalation. It shows complete disregard for human life, humanitarian principles and regional peace," said Ly Thuch, vice president of the CMAA. Defense Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata reiterated the accusation at a press conference and claimed it demonstrated Thailand's willingness to break international law. Thailand and Cambodia are not parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the production, use and stockpiling of cluster munitions. 10:15 a.m. Indonesia's foreign ministry said that the country was closely following the development. "We are confident that the two neighboring countries will immediately return to peaceful means to settle their differences in line with the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation," it said in a social media post. 10 a.m. Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesperson Chhum Socheat said on Friday that firing continued overnight but the intensity of shelling was less than the previous day. He also claimed that the Thai military was using surveillance drones in Preah Vihear province. "At around 2 a.m., shots were fired from both sides along the border," Socheat said. "There has been an exchange of fire from last night until this morning. Our soldiers are in control and protecting all areas, but the Thais are still trying to fly drones to shoot at our areas." Chhum Socheat did not comment on whether there were any casualties among civilians and military personnel. However, Met Measpheakdey, deputy governor of Oddar Meanchey province -- where firing was reported on Thursday -- said one civilian was killed and five others injured. Thailand's Second Army Area, which is leading the fighting along the Thai border, also said clashes continued on Friday. 7:50 a.m. The deputy spokesperson of Thailand's Ministry of Health, Varoth Chotpitayasunondh, has posted updated Thai casualty figures on his Facebook account. He said 13 civilians and one soldier were killed and 32 civilians and 14 soldiers injured.


Kyodo News
6 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Japan, U.S. ministers reached trade agreement in mid-June: sources
TOKYO - Japan's chief negotiator reached an agreement with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in mid-June on a deal offering massive Japanese investment in the United States in exchange for a reduction in tariffs, sources close to the matter said Saturday. Over the following month, Japan focused on convincing U.S. President Donald Trump through Lutnick of the advantages of the agreement, with the proposal of expanding imports of U.S.-grown rice used as the final bargaining chip. The trade deal, announced by Trump on July 23, includes tariffs on Japanese cars set at 15 percent -- lower than the 27.5 percent that was to have been levied -- in exchange for $550 billion of Japanese investment in the United States. During the course of the negotiations, which spanned around three months from mid-April, Japan identified Lutnick as the only person who could communicate "directly and on a deep level" with Trump due to their close friendship of over 30 years, and directed its efforts on him, according to one of the sources. Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, built trust with Lutnick not only through in-person talks but also through dozens of phone calls, the source said. Believing that Lutnick placed a high priority on economic security amid China concerns, Japan emphasized its willingness to contribute to strengthening U.S. domestic supply chains and eventually reached an understanding with him. Trump, however, maintained a hardline stance even in late June, venting frustration that Japan does not import significant amounts of American cars and rice. "I'm not sure we're going to make a deal. I doubt it," he had said, while demanding additional concessions in exchange for lowering tariffs. The tide turned on July 22 immediately following Japan's upper house election. A sudden meeting was arranged for the following day between Trump and Akazawa, who was in Washington for an eighth round of talks. Akazawa and Lutnick began to "rehearse" in preparation for the talks, with Lutnick suggesting that a total investment of $400 billion be proposed in the expectation that Trump would ask for $500 billion. A board was prepared by U.S. officials to clearly show Trump how much Japan would investment. But Trump demanded even more, leaving Akazawa no choice but to agree to $550 billion. A senior official of the prime minister's office acknowledged that the deal does not align with World Trade Organization rules or the Japan-U.S. trade agreement that took effect in January 2020, but also conceded that Trump "is a president who genuinely believes in protecting his country through tariffs."