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Good afternoon,
According to a new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released on Friday, seven in ten Americans think President Donald Trump's tariffs on international trade will increase U.S. inflation. Additionally, nearly 47% of Republicans believe tariffs will have a negative impact on inflation. Despite Mr. President being in denial, taking to his Truth Social account to spread fake news that everyday prices are down, the American people are making their frustrations known. Notably, today marks President Trump's 100th day in office. Many of the promises he made on day 1 are still yet to be fulfilled. However, in true Trump fashion, he has "a series of setpiece interviews and events linked up to mark the big occasion, hoping to convince America that his first three months back in the White House have been not just consequential but a triumph."
Here are a few important updates...
FOREIGN STUDENT VISAS REVERSAL
The Trump administration is on a streak of reversals, reversing the terminations of foreign students' U.S. visa registrations on Friday. After weeks of intense review by courts in addition to many restraining orders issued by judges, the Justice Department announced a complete reversal in federal court. According to Politico, "the terminations from the federal database earlier this month sparked more than 100 lawsuits, with judges in more than 50 of the cases ordering the administration to temporarily undo the actions." This was an incredibly surprising move by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though the administration has hinted that this is only a temporary spare. The dramatic back and forth has created anxiety and uncertainty among international students. In fact, some students have "voluntarily left the country" after abandoning their legal fight.
While the restoration of international students' visas represents justice for students pursuing academics in America and a moment of accountability geared toward the Trump administration, the future of these policies remains uncertain. This will likely not be the end of the administration's attempt to rid our nation's higher education institutions of international students. We must continue to push courts to uphold the legal system and not let the president sway the system.
ELIMINATING USDA JOBS ONE DAY AND REVERSING RESIGNATIONS THE NEXT
According to a recent email reviewed by Investigate Midwest, the Trump administration is trying to reverse yet another one of its harmful actions: the aggressive cuts to staff at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An email was sent to the forced-out employees, asking them to "reconsider" and calling them "vital" to the agency's work. Over 700 U.S. Department of Agriculture employees were forced to leave the agency and take resignation offers. These actions are part of the larger Trump administration's efforts to significantly reduce the federal workforce through sweeping terminations. Due to a dislike for the USDA's working conditions and the chaos that came with the resignations, it seems unlikely that employees will accept the offer.
As noted by Investigate Midwest, "the Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk's quasi-governmental DOGE have alleged the federal workforce is lazy and the government is riddled with waste and fraud." This is the latest instance of disarray and hypocrisy to come out of the Trump administration, as the email to employees seemed to recognize that some federal workers have an important purpose and function at the agency. It will be interesting to watch this latest episode of federal whiplash unfold, especially since President Trump has reached the monumental 100 days in office.
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DOGE IN THE DOGHOUSE
Big shocker: Elon Musk's DOGE might not be the cost-saving machine it was hyped up to be. According to MSNBC, "new estimates suggest that the way Musk has gone about his cost-cutting crusade might cost nearly as much as – if not more – than what he claims to have saved taxpayers." Throughout Musk's recent presence in the limelight, his promised amount of savings from his "efficiency" agency has changed from $2 trillion to $1 trillion to $150 billion (7.5% of the original amount promised). In fact, The New York Times reports that DOGE will cost taxpayers $135 billion this fiscal year. Americans wanted everyday costs to go down and for new leadership to act responsibly and effectively. That is not what we have seen play out on the national stage.
NUMBER OF THE WEEK
$230 billion: This is the amount of funding cuts over 10 years the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is facing under the House budget plan. SNAP is our country's largest nutrition assistance program, providing support to countless individuals in rural America and low-income areas. These draconian cuts could take away meals from 9 million American children.
- May 15th – The Supreme Court will hear arguments over Trump's executive order to restrict birthright citizenship.
- June 5, 2025 – The deadline for grant applications for the Market Access Program (MAP), Foreign Market Development Program (FMD), Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops Program (TASC), and Emerging Markets Program (EMP). These programs help domestic producers find international markets.
WHAT WE'RE READING
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