Tuesday, April 15 | By Cate Martel |
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- Trump threatens Harvard
- MTG buys market dip; Jeffries backs stock ban
- MAGA base grows
- Biden's first speech since leaving office
- Game show isolated contestants since Trump inauguration
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*Gulp* Well, Harvard put its money where its mouth is: |
Harvard University is fighting back against the Trump administration's demands on policies regarding faculty, students, protesters and diversity, equity and inclusion practices. The Trump administration says it has frozen roughly $2.2 billion in Harvard's grants and $60 million in contracts. Harvard University President Alan Garber explained: "No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue," Garber published in a letter. And 🔎read the letter responding to the Trump administration's demands — the authors are Bill Burck and Robert Hur, which are notable. And it may not stop there: Trump floated the idea this morning of revoking Harvard's tax exempt status over the feud (!) Related read: The New York Times's Michael C. Bender, Alan Blinder and Jonathan Swan report, "Inside Trump's Pressure Campaign on Universities." "As he finished lunch in the private dining room outside the Oval Office on April 1, President Trump floated an astounding proposal: What if the government simply canceled every dollar of the nearly $9 billion promised to Harvard University?" 💡 Why this matters: The Trump administration is threatening to withhold funding that universities deeply rely on as it tries to force them to change their views and policies. Most schools, including Columbia University, have agreed to Trump's demands over threats of losing massive sums of funding. Harvard is the wealthiest school in the country and best equipped to take on the Trump administration. This calls into question First Amendment rights. |
➤ JUST HOW POPULAR IS THE MAGA MOVEMENT?: |
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is becoming a household name: |
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, has become the focal point of President Trump's controversial deportations. First, who is he?: He immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager in 2011 but was given legal status to stay in 2019 because of threats of gang violence in his home country. He has been living in Maryland with his wife and three children and worked as a sheet metal apprentice. How did he get tangled with the Trump administration?: He was recently deported as part of the Trump administration's effort to remove people who are suspected as being part of a gang. A Justice Department (DOJ) attorney then acknowledged they made an "administrative error" in deporting him. The White House isn't feeling apologetic about the mix-up: That attorney who admitted to the mistake was suspended. Attorney General Pam Bondi argues that Abrego Garcia is part of the MS-13 gang — a claim his family denies and that has yet to be substantiated by the courts. "He's not a Maryland man," Bondi told Fox News's Jesse Watters. The Supreme Court got involved: Justices ruled last week that the Trump administration must facilitate his return, but the Trump administration is ignoring their order. The DOJ argues it's out of the U.S.'s hands now. Abrego Garcia's biggest hope was for El Salvador to release him: The Trump administration has argued it's up to El Salvador to decide whether he is released, but Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said yesterday that he also has no plans to intervene and send him back to the U.S. Read more on the Trump-Bukele meeting |
➤ 🏈 WHY VANCE IS TRENDING ON SOCIAL MEDIA: |
Vice President Vance tried picking up the national championship trophy during a public ceremony yesterday. Former Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson tried to help Vance lift the trophy, separating its body from its base, and Vance dropped the base. 📹 Yes, of course there's video |
Stock trading debate intensifies:
| The New York Times reports that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a fierce Trump loyalist, made thousands of dollars of stock trades on April 8 and 9 — a day before Trump paused global tariffs and sent the market soaring after steep dips. How much money did she make?: Those trades are worth somewhere between $21,000 and $315,000 (!). She also reportedly got rid of roughly $50,000 to $100,000 in Treasury bills. How we know those figures: Members of Congress are required to disclose their stock trades within a month — though, they only have to give a range. Democrats cry foul: "The report came as Democrats in Congress have demanded investigations of whether the president's whipsawing moves on trade might have been aimed at manipulating the market and giving his allies a lucrative opportunity for insider trading." Read Annie Karni's reporting in The New York Times: 'Greene Bought Market Dip Before Trump Paused Tariffs, Profiting From the Rally' |
➤ THE TOP HOUSE DEMOCRAT DOESN'T THINK THIS IS FAIR:
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) says he wants sitting lawmakers to be banned from actively trading stocks. MSNBC's Jen Psaki rattled off these figures to Jeffries: "That doesn't sound like a coincidence to me," she said, asking Jeffries to respond. Jeffries: "So many of these people are crooks, liars, and frauds. And Marjorie Taylor Greene is, of course, exhibit A. We are seeing corruption unfold before us in real time." 📹 Watch the segment |
Greene is holding a town hall meeting around 6 p.m. EDT today in Cobb County, Ga. 💻 Livestream |
The buzz among Democrats: |
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have been drawing *massive* crowds across the country with their "Fighting Oligarchy" tour. The Hill's Caroline Vakil reports that the excitement and energy has been drawing speculation over Ocasio-Cortez's future. Why this matters: "Though both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been prominent figures for years now, the rallies have taken on increased attention as Democrats have struggled to find a way to reset and oppose President Trump during his second term in office." Remember how Sanders jokingly referred to Ocasio-Cortez as his daughter during last weekend's Utah rally? Read more on the speculation: 'Buzz builds around Ocasio-Cortez's future' |
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The House and Senate are out. President Trump and Vice President Vance are in Washington. (All times EST) |
12:30 p.m. Trump and Vance have lunch together.
12:45 p.m. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) holds a town hall in Lee County, Iowa. 💻 Livestream
1 p.m. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream 2 p.m. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream 2:30 p.m. Trump signs executive orders. 3:30 p.m. Trump participates in a Commander-in-Chief Trophy presentation to the Navy Midshipmen football team. 💻 Livestream 6 p.m. Former President Biden delivers his first speech since leaving office. 💻 Livestream 6 p.m. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) holds a town hall in Georgia. 💻 Livestream |
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| 🍖 Celebrate: Today is National Glazed Spiral Ham Day. 📺 This show sounds unhinged and I cannot wait to watch: Fox News Media placed four people in complete isolation on the day of President Trump's inauguration — no phones, internet, TV, etc., per The Hollywood Reporter. Ninety days later, Fox News's Greg Gutfeld will interview them to guess what happened during Trump's first three months in office. It will air on May 12, 13 and 14. "The show will see Gutfeld presenting dozens of scenarios featuring real headlines and fake ones, with the contestants having to sort through them to figure out what really happened, and what didn't. The grand prize is $50,000." 🤯 🙂 If you see a smiley face in the stars, you're not imagining it: On April 25, Venus, Saturn and the moon will be in rare positions that will resemble a smiley face. The moon's crescent is the mouth. |
📺 Miss Friday's newsletter? Catch up with a 1-minute video recap here. |
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