Trump Administration appears to be backing down

On Harvard:


“The White House (yes, technically the GSA guy and the two lawyers) sent that letter to Harvard, demanding de facto control of the university’s hiring, admissions and various elements of its curriculum. Harvard replied with a flat rejection ten days ago. The White House immediately responded by freezing $2.3 billion in grants to Harvard. That was on April 14th. Then, four days later (April 18th), there was that weird article in the Times in which we learned that the White House said that the original demand letter had been sent by mistake. The White House wasn’t disowning the contents of the letter, or not exactly? They made what might best be described as a kind of low-energy and churlish demand or beg for Harvard to continue negotiating. It’s been reported that the White House made as many as three informal contacts to restart negotiations. Then, three days (April 21st) after that, Harvard sued. I noted yesterday that a majority of the University of Michigan Regents published an op-ed backing Harvard’s stand and denouncing the White House’s coercion tactics. The American Association of Colleges and Universities published and open letter doing the same which was signed by more than 150 university presidents.

 

“As some of us have speculated, it’s not clear the White House feels like it has a card to play if a university calls its bluff in this stand off. I’m now told that the White House has been signaling to Harvard that it wants out, doesn’t want the fight. It certainly seems clear the White House wasn’t expecting the battle to escalate as quickly as it has or, perhaps as importantly, other universities to be coming forward, either individually or en masse, to side with Harvard’s fight.”

 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/does-trump-want-out-of-the-harvard-fight

 

 On the Kilmar Abrego Garcia release:

 

“Apparently the Trump administration is finally doing enough to facilitate the release of the mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to satisfy his lawyers – at least for now. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland on Wednesday night ordered the case paused for a week at the agreement of the parties. Her order came after dueling filings earlier in the day, with the government asking for the pause and Abrego Garcia’s lawyers initially opposing it. Both filings were under seal so it’s not clear precisely what was initially in dispute, what has been agreed to, or what the government revealed that convinced the judge the delay was not just more gamesmanship from the Trump DOJ.”

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo/judge-pauses-abrego-garcia-case-after-secret-agreement-reached

 

On tariffs:

 

“US President Donald Trump has signaled a potential U-turn on his trade war with China amid continued market volatility, saying the high tariffs on Chinese goods will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.”

 

“Trump’s remarks, made at a White House news event Tuesday, appear to mark a rhetorical climbdown after weeks of tough posturing and tit-for-tat retaliation that sent tariffs on China beyond a staggering 145%.

 

“145% is very high and it won’t be that high,” Trump said in a question-and-answer session with reporters in the Oval Office. “It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially.” 

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/22/business/trump-china-trade-war-reduction-hnk-intl/index.html

 

 

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