Latest news with #DonadTrump
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
White House convenes meeting to brainstorm new Harvard measures
The Trump administration is escalating its campaign against Harvard University — and looking for new ways to bring the storied institution to heel. The White House convened officials from nearly a dozen agencies on Wednesday to brainstorm additional punitive measures, according to one administration official and a second person familiar with the meeting, who were granted anonymity to share details. The administration official said that forthcoming actions are expected from the State, Treasury, Health and Human Services and Justice departments, among others, and could happen as early as next month. The push comes as the White House regroups after a federal judge blocked its move to bar Harvard from enrolling international students, and underscores how President Donad Trump has grown increasingly invested in the battle. Even as some in the administration privately grouse that the aggressive posture is allowing Harvard to win public sympathy, Trump has kept up the attacks, threatening in a post last week to revoke its tax exempt status and chastising Harvard again Wednesday during an unrelated press conference. 'Harvard is treating our country with great disrespect and all they're doing is getting in deeper and deeper and deeper,' Trump told reporters Wednesday. But with the low-hanging policy options already underway, the administration knows it will need to get more creative to keep squeezing the school, according to two administration officials and another person familiar with the talks, who like others in the story were granted anonymity to share details of private conversations. The administration would not comment on what it is considering but some options include having the Department of Justice expand its investigation into the university's admissions policies or cutting money to medical institutions affiliated with Harvard. 'The latest moves against Harvard are truly just scratching the surface,' said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields, without specifying what else the administration has to bring Harvard to heel. 'Harvard decided to litigate this on MSNBC, the now defunded NPR, and the ratings-disaster CNN instead of acting like adults like many of their competitors have done and engaging in fruitful conversations and actions that would have saved them from their self-inflicted demise.' Harvard University declined to comment. The relentless focus has some inside the administration worrying that the longer the fight the greater the risk that the White House overplays its hand. 'We're fighting a losing battle,' one of the administration officials said, acknowledging that the university has the narrative upper hand when it comes to the effort to revoke Harvard's student visas. 'We've taken one of the most evil institutions and made them the victim.' The fight comes amid the Trump administration's broader efforts to reshape not just American government but the institutions that have long surrounded it. In addition to Harvard, the White House has taken on a slate of other prestigious universities, including other Ivy League schools and the University of California system, as part of a broader siege against cultural institutions it sees as out of step with the administration, from Big Law firms to the Kennedy Center. The conflict between the Trump administration and the Ivy League university has been brewing since February, but it escalated dramatically after an April 11 letter replete with demands was mistakenly sent to Harvard at a time when a deal to avoid confrontation was a real possibility. Until that letter was sent, it seemed possible a deal could be reached. But once it was sent communication broke down. In the six weeks since the letter was mistakenly sent, the administration froze $2.2 billion in multiyear research grants and axed an additional $60 million in contracts; cut 500 grants from the National Institutes of Health for Harvard-affiliated institutions; barred the university from any future grants; and launched multiple investigations into Harvard's practices by the departments of Justice, Health, Education and Homeland Security and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Harvard, in response, took the administration to court, where on Thursday a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the administration's effort to bar international students. That block will remain in place as both sides negotiate over a potential injunction that would preserve the status quo while the case moves forward. One of the people familiar with the talks said that while the April 11 letter did inflame tensions, the university could have found a way to move on. Instead, it has refused to have any dialogue with the White House and stopped trying to appease the administration as it tries to win in the court of public opinion, the person said. 'They think their audience is the alumni, the funders and the students and the faculty,' the person said. 'But there's another audience that they're totally not working with. I just don't think that's smart long term."
Politico
4 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
White House convenes meeting to brainstorm new Harvard measures
The Trump administration is escalating its campaign against Harvard University — and looking for new ways to bring the storied institution to heel. The White House convened officials from nearly a dozen agencies on Wednesday to brainstorm additional punitive measures, according to one administration official and a second person familiar with the meeting, who were granted anonymity to share details. The administration official said that forthcoming actions are expected from the State, Treasury, Health and Human Services and Justice departments, among others, and could happen as early as next month. The push comes as the White House regroups after a federal judge blocked its move to bar Harvard from enrolling international students, and underscores how President Donad Trump has grown increasingly invested in the battle. Even as some in the administration privately grouse that the aggressive posture is allowing Harvard to win public sympathy, Trump has kept up the attacks, threatening in a post last week to revoke its tax exempt status and chastising Harvard again Wednesday during an unrelated press conference. 'Harvard is treating our country with great disrespect and all they're doing is getting in deeper and deeper and deeper,' Trump told reporters Wednesday. But with the low-hanging policy options already underway, the administration knows it will need to get more creative to keep squeezing the school, according to two administration officials and another person familiar with the talks, who like others in the story were granted anonymity to share details of private conversations. The administration would not comment on what it is considering but some options include having the Department of Justice expand its investigation into the university's admissions policies or cutting money to medical institutions affiliated with Harvard. 'The latest moves against Harvard are truly just scratching the surface,' said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields, without specifying what else the administration has to bring Harvard to heel. 'Harvard decided to litigate this on MSNBC, the now defunded NPR, and the ratings-disaster CNN instead of acting like adults like many of their competitors have done and engaging in fruitful conversations and actions that would have saved them from their self-inflicted demise.' Harvard University declined to comment. The relentless focus has some inside the administration worrying that the longer the fight the greater the risk that the White House overplays its hand. 'We're fighting a losing battle,' one of the administration officials said, acknowledging that the university has the narrative upper hand when it comes to the effort to revoke Harvard's student visas. 'We've taken one of the most evil institutions and made them the victim.' The fight comes amid the Trump administration's broader efforts to reshape not just American government but the institutions that have long surrounded it. In addition to Harvard, the White House has taken on a slate of other prestigious universities, including other Ivy League schools and the University of California system, as part of a broader siege against cultural institutions it sees as out of step with the administration, from Big Law firms to the Kennedy Center. The conflict between the Trump administration and the Ivy League university has been brewing since February, but it escalated dramatically after an April 11 letter replete with demands was mistakenly sent to Harvard at a time when a deal to avoid confrontation was a real possibility. Until that letter was sent, it seemed possible a deal could be reached. But once it was sent communication broke down. In the six weeks since the letter was mistakenly sent, the administration froze $2.2 billion in multiyear research grants and axed an additional $60 million in contracts; cut 500 grants from the National Institutes of Health for Harvard-affiliated institutions; barred the university from any future grants; and launched multiple investigations into Harvard's practices by the departments of Justice, Health, Education and Homeland Security and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Harvard, in response, took the administration to court, where on Thursday a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the administration's effort to bar international students. That block will remain in place as both sides negotiate over a potential injunction that would preserve the status quo while the case moves forward. One of the people familiar with the talks said that while the April 11 letter did inflame tensions, the university could have found a way to move on. Instead, it has refused to have any dialogue with the White House and stopped trying to appease the administration as it tries to win in the court of public opinion, the person said. 'They think their audience is the alumni, the funders and the students and the faculty,' the person said. 'But there's another audience that they're totally not working with. I just don't think that's smart long term.'
Daily Tribune
22-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
Golden Dome shield for US
US President Donad Trump has announced new details and initial funding for his 'Golden Dome' missile shield system, with geopolitical rival China accusing Washington yesterday of undermining global stability. Trump on Tuesday announced $25 billion earmarked for the project, which he said could eventually cost a total of around $175 billion and would be operational in about three years. Beijing hit back Wednesday, denouncing Golden Dome as a threat to international security and accusing the United States of fueling an arms race. 'In the campaign I promised the American people I would build a cutting-edge missile defense shield,' Trump said at the White House on Tuesday. 'Today I am pleased to announce we have officially selected architecture for this state-ofthe-art system.' 'Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they are launched from space,' Trump said. 'This is very important for the success and even survival of our country.' He said US Space Force General Michael Guetlein will lead the effort, and that Canada has expressed interest in being part of it as 'they want to have protection also.' While Trump put the total price at about $175 billion, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated the cost of spacebased interceptors to defeat a limited number of intercontinental ballistic missiles at between $161 billion and $542 billion over 20 years. Golden Dome has more expansive goals, with Trump saying it 'will deploy next-generation technologies across the land, sea and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors.'Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, speaking alongside Trump, said the system is aimed at protecting 'the homeland from cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, drones, whether they're conventional or nuclear.' China, Russia oppose Golden Dome The plan's Golden Dome name stems from Israel's Iron Dome air defense sys - tem that has in- ter - cepted thousands o f short-range rockets and other projectiles since it went into operation in 2011. The United States faces various missile threats from adversaries, but they differ significantly from the short-range weapons that Israel's Iron Dome is designed to counter. The 2022 Missile Defense Review pointed to growing threats from China and Russia. Beijing is closing the gap with Washington when it comes to ballistic and hypersonic missile technology, while Moscow is modernizing its intercontinental-range missile systems and developing advanced precision strike missiles, the document said. It also said that the threat of drones -- which have played a key role in the Ukraine war -- is likely to grow, and warned of the danger of ballistic missiles from North Korea and Iran, as well as rocket and missile threats from non-state on Wednesday expressed 'serious concern' over the plan, saying it undercuts 'global strategic balance and stability.' 'The United States puts its own interests first and is obsessed with seeking its own absolute security, which violates the principle that no country's security should come at the expense of others,' foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular briefing. '(The plan) heightens the risk of space becoming a battlefield, fuels an arms race, and undermines international security,' Mao added. China this month had already joined Russia in slamming the concept as 'deeply destabilizing'.It 'explicitly provides for a significant strengthening of the arsenal for conducting combat operations in space,' said a statement published by the Kremlin after talks between the two sides.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wednesday's Campaign Round-Up, 3.5.25: New poll shows Trump approval sinking
Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country. * The latest national Reuters/Ipsos poll — the first conducted entirely after Friday's Oval Office debacle — found Donad Trump's approval rating dipping to 44%. The same survey found only 34% of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction. (Click the link for more information on the poll's methodology and margin of error.) * Speaking of polling, the latest statewide survey in Ohio, conducted by the Bowling Green State University Democracy and Public Policy Research Network and YouGov, found failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy leading the Republicans' gubernatorial field with 61% support, well ahead of state Attorney General Dave Yost's 24%. (Click the link for more information on the poll's methodology and margin of error.) * Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas died last night, just two months into his first term on Capitol Hill. A Texas Tribune report added, 'Gov. Greg Abbott can call a special election to fill Turner's congressional seat for the rest of his term. State law does not specify a deadline to call a special election, but if it is called the election is required to happen within two months of the announcement.' * In Michigan, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg hasn't yet announced his electoral plans, but Politico reported that he met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last week about a possible Senate campaign next year. * Nicole Shanahan, who was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate in last year's presidential election, has apparently found a new focus: The very wealthy lawyer is reportedly helping finance a recall campaign targeting Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. * Elon Musk amplified some dubious claims last week about Democratic voter registration data in Philadelphia. Local election officials soon after set the record straight. * And while Gov. Tim Walz has ruled out a U.S. Senate campaign in 2026, the Minnesota Democrat suggested to The New Yorker that he's open to a 2028 presidential campaign. Walz, of course, was his party's vice presidential nominee in the 2024 race. This article was originally published on
