Tuesday, May 27 | By Cate Martel |
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It's Tuesday. Today is the last day to book a Southwest Airlines flight without a checked bag fee. Now, the first bag will be $35, and the second will cost $45. 🙃 | - Trump aims to axe all of Harvard's federal funds
- RFK Jr. nixes COVID vaccination for kids, pregnant people
- Trump, Putin spar
- Supreme Court rules in "two genders" T-shirt case
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Trump escalates battle with Harvard: |
President Trump is instructing his administration to cut all remaining government contracts with Harvard University. The numbers: The New York Times estimates that today's move would end roughly $100 million in contracts — and totaling roughly $3.2 billion in total grants and contracts since last month. What now?: Trump has instructed federal agencies to come up with a list of contracts with Harvard by June 6. 🔎 Read the draft letter. This is in addition to the Trump administration attempting to block Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students, a move Harvard is fiercely fighting in the courts. Why this matters: Harvard has taken the brunt of the White House's battle over the alleged liberal ideologies at colleges and universities. Harvard is perhaps the most well-equipped school to fight back, but it's unclear how many financial punches it can weather long term. |
➤ PUSHBACK ON THIS FIRST AMENDMENT BATTLE: |
National Public Radio (NPR) is suing the Trump administration over its executive order to strip federal funding for public broadcasting. The lawsuit: NPR argues Trump's move violates its First Amendment rights. NPR CEO Katherine Maher accused the Trump administration of targeting NPR because of a perception of liberal bias. |
RFK Jr. changes COVID-19 vaccine recommendations:
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant people and healthy children. 📹 Kennedy made the announcement in a 1-minute X video Keep in mind: The Trump administration recently announced a limit to approving COVID-19 shots. It will only go to adults over 65 and people who are high risk. |
New reporting just dropped: |
The New York Times's Kenneth P. Vogel published a report late this morning, "Trump Pardoned Tax Cheat After Mother Attended $1 Million Dinner." You will likely hear more about this story, so it's worth reading. From Vogel: "A judge sentenced Paul Walczak to 18 [months] in prison & ~$4.4M in restitution, declaring there 'is not a get-out-of-jail-free card' for the rich. Trump's pardon indicated otherwise, sparing Walczak from serving even 1 day in prison or paying any of the $4.4M." |
How did Trump honor Memorial Day?: |
Well, he sent an all-caps Memorial Day message to Americans, including bashing the "SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY." He then elaborated on what "scum" he meant. It included a lot of buzzwords like: "RADICAL LEFT," "DRUG DEALERS," "MURDER," "ILLEGALLY ENTER OUR COUNTRY," "CRIMINALS," etc. 🔎 Read his 174-word post The president also visited Arlington National Cemetery, where he delivered remarks and participated in a wreath-laying ceremony. He used his speech to criticize the previous administration and its handling of the U.S.- Mexico border, arguing he is "fixing" the country. Keep in mind that he did not mention former President Biden by name. | The Supreme Court said 'nah': | "The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a student's challenge to his school district blocking him from wearing a T-shirt to class that reads, 'There are only two genders.'" But keep in mind: Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito suggested they *would* have taken up the case. But, alas, they were outnumbered. The Hill's Zach Schonfeld's explainer on the case |
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There's a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap in the works: |
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to a prisoner swap, according to a top Russian diplomat. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: While Lavrov didn't give details of the prisoner exchange, he did accuse some European countries of sabotaging efforts to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine, per NBC News. This is notable timing: Putin launched a huge aerial assault on Ukraine. Trump referred to Putin as "absolutely CRAZY." (FWIW, the British ambassador to the U.S. agrees.) The Kremlin then bashed Trump as being "emotional," per Semafor. This all comes as Trump has tried to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. |
➤ THE WALL STREET JOURNAL HAS SOME THOUGHTS:
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The Wall Street Journal's editorial board is calling for Senate Republicans to pressure Trump into taking a tougher stance on Russia. Excerpt: "Mr. Trump may be the only person in the world still surprised by how Mr. Putin is behaving. The Russian is the same man he's been for two decades, bent on reconstituting as much of the old Soviet empire as he can get away with." Read the op-ed: 'Time for a GOP Senate Revolt on Sanctions Against Putin' |
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The big, beautiful price tag: |
It's now up to Senate Republicans to pass President Trump's legislative agenda, but The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports that some GOP lawmakers have significant concerns over the whopping $3 trillion price tag. The worry: "Some GOP senators fear the bill's failure to rein in federal spending in a substantial way over the next decade is fueling jitters in the bond market, where soft demand for U.S. debt has caused yields to climb in recent weeks. And they worry that if Republicans pass Trump's bill on party-line votes in both chambers, they will get blamed for heaping trillions of dollars onto the debt, and the economic consequences that may follow in the future." At least four Senate conservatives are worried about the financial implications of this whopper bill. Read Bolton's reporting: 'GOP fears Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is 'debt bomb"' |
➤ BTW THEY'RE ALSO WORRIED ABOUT THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM:
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"A House GOP-backed proposal that would cut billions in federal dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation's largest food assistance program, is drawing concerns from Republicans in the upper chamber," reports The Hill's Aris Folley. What House Republicans' plan would do: It would require states to cover a share of SNAP benefits. Currently, the program is funded entirely by the federal government. |
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The House and Senate are out.🌴 President Trump is in Washington. (All times EST) |
2 p.m.: State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream 7:30 p.m.: SpaceX launches ninth Starship test flight. 💻 Livestream |
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🍇 Celebrate: Today is National Grape Day. 🌋 This looks like a movie scene: Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano erupted Sunday with lava shooting up more than 1,000 feet in the air. 📹 Watch 🌶️ The drink of the summer?: There's a TikTok trend of people putting fresh slices of jalapeños in sauvignon blanc. |
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