Geoff Bennett:
We start the day’s other headlines with the Trump administration’s ongoing battle with Harvard University.
A federal judge has ruled that officials unlawfully terminated about $2.2 billion in research grants amid claims of antisemitism on campus. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs found that the cuts amounted to illegal retaliation for Harvard’s refusal to give in to White House demands over how it operates.
It’s a major victory for Harvard, which has been working to cut a deal with the Trump administration after months of legal wrangling. President Trump has said previously that his administration would appeal any such rulings from Judge Burroughs.
Florida is moving to become the first state to eliminate all vaccine mandates, including those for children to attend school. During a press conference today, State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo called such requirements immoral and even compared them to a form of slavery.
It’s unclear how exactly Florida would eliminate the requirements. Some would require action by state lawmakers. Meantime, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington are forming an alliance to coordinate their immunization policies. They want to provide guidance based on hard data and guard against what they view as political interference in science.
It comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moves to undercut longstanding federal guidance on vaccines.
Republicans in Congress are welcoming Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser’s decision to continue collaborating with President Trump’s federal forces. Bowser issued an order yesterday to keep an emergency operation center open indefinitely. The move, which the president says is aimed at combating crime, allows local officials to coordinate directly with the federal agencies he has ordered into the city.
House Republicans told reporters today that other cities should follow suit.
