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‘Ideological deportation' trial continues
‘Ideological deportation' trial continues

Politico

time6 days ago

  • Politics
  • Politico

‘Ideological deportation' trial continues

With help from Josh Gerstein 'IDEOLOGICAL DEPORTATION': A coalition of academics suing the Trump administration for what it describes as 'ideological deportation' will continue to make their case in federal court today that the administration has been targeting faculty and students, who partake in pro-Palestinian activity. — The American Association of University Professors, a union and membership association of academics, accused the Trump administration of punishing noncitizens with lawful status who the administration disagrees with. — The Trump administration tried to get the case dismissed, but Judge William Young, a Ronald Reagan-appointee, ordered a trial, which began last week. — A State Department official defended the Trump administration's moves in a Boston courtroom on Friday to cancel the visas of pro-Palestinian academics, arguing that the effort does not infringe upon free speech, while arguing that a 'ideological deportation policy' was not underway. — 'I have heard that accusation. I believe it's groundless,' said John Armstrong, State's top consular official, who has worked at the agency for more than 30 years. — 'I run the Bureau of Consular Affairs. I'm responsible for everything those 13,000 people do,' Armstrong added. 'I would know if there's an ideological deportation policy going on that involved the Bureau of Consular Affairs. It's silly to suggest that there's such a policy that I wouldn't know about.' — However, AAUP argues that recent deportations, detentions and arrests have created a chilling effect on campuses across the country. The plaintiffs and their witnesses point to examples such as Columbia University graduate and activist Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk, who co-authored an op-ed calling for Tufts leadership to condemn certain Israeli actions. — Some professors testified in court that these efforts have dissuaded them from speaking in support of pro-Palestine advocacy. — 'I actually just decided on a blanket policy that I would keep my head down completely,' professor of philosophy Bernhard Nickel, a German citizen, said during his testimony last week, according to Harvard Magazine. — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell co-led a coalition of 19 attorneys general who outlined their concerns about the Trump administration's treatment of noncitizen academics and students in an amicus brief. — 'No student should ever live in fear of detention or deportation for what they believe or express. School campuses are not places where young people should be silenced, targeted, or made to feel unsafe,' Campbell said in a statement. 'I am proud to defend the rights of our international students and faculty who add to the rich dialogue on our campuses and to our global competitiveness as a nation.' — The trial is expected to continue throughout this week. IT'S MONDAY, JULY 14. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. I'm your host, Rebecca Carballo. Let's talk: rcarballo@ The team: Bianca Quilantan at bquilantan@ Juan Perez Jr. at jperez@ and Mackenzie Wilkes at mwilkes@ Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. In the States ACCREDITATION: Florida university leaders took initial steps toward creating a new multistate college accrediting board Friday, putting into motion the first major attempt to reform accreditation under the Trump administration, our Andrew Atterbury reports. — The state university system's Board of Governors voted to establish the so-called Commission for Public Higher Education as a nonprofit in Florida and set up a board to run it, with hopes of scoring a final U.S. Department of Education approval by mid-2028. Major universities in five other Southern states have already signed on to the idea, signaling a possible shift in the higher education landscape as Republicans rail against 'woke indoctrination' on college campuses. — 'We believe that the best way to improve the marketplace is to have more choice, and we believe this is a choice whose time has come,' said Ray Rodrigues, chancellor of Florida's university system. DEI SCRUBBING DEI: A Harvard alumni group, Crimson Courage, criticized the university for rolling back diversity equity and inclusion language across its website. — The university shuttered its diversity office and replaced it with an Office for Academic Culture and Community, The Harvard Crimson reported last week. Webpages for the Harvard College Women's Center, Office for BGLTQ Student Life, and Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations were taken down that week. — The alumni group wrote they had concerns that the impact of Harvard's actions extend further than their own campus, setting a dangerous precedent. — 'We write with deep concern about the dismantling of diversity efforts at Harvard College and the FAS, an apparent capitulation to illegal federal overreach that represents a troubling submission to their coercive demands,' the group wrote in a letter to university officials. 'This moment is not just about internal policy shifts, but about the erosion of academic freedom under pressure and the dangerous precedent it sets for the future of American education and democratic society.' Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. THE SENATE 'GENDER IDEOLOGY': Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) are introducing a bill in their chamber that aims to codify an executive order from President Donald Trump that would ban federal funding to teach about 'gender ideology' in schools. — The executive order that the senators reference in their bill declares there are 'two sexes, male and female' and rescinds a list of Biden-era policies pertaining to LGBTQ+ themes and transgender equality. — 'Our children go to school to be educated, not indoctrinated,' Tuberville said in a statement. 'I've always said that education is the key to unlocking opportunity. But under Joe Biden, Democrats turned our children's classrooms into woke propaganda HQ. Schools should focus on teaching kids to read, write, and do math. I'm proud to join my colleagues in introducing the Say No to Indoctrination Act to get woke politics out of the classroom.' — Joining in: Sens. Tuberville and Risch were joined by Sens. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) in cosponsoring this legislation. Syllabus — After Northwestern scientist questioned for China ties died by suicide, family sues and speaks out. NBC News. — After a child care worker is detained by ICE, a community is left reeling. The 19th. — A federal program helps NYC families eat healthy meals. Trump's new legislation cuts it. Chalkbeat.

SCOTUS clears path for Trump's federal job cuts
SCOTUS clears path for Trump's federal job cuts

Politico

time09-07-2025

  • Health
  • Politico

SCOTUS clears path for Trump's federal job cuts

Driving the Day SCOTUS: MOVE FORWARD WITH RIF PLANS — The Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday allowing the Trump administration to move forward with restructuring federal agencies through executive power, POLITICO's Josh Gerstein and Hassan Ali Kanu report. A judge in California had blocked the layoffs, finding they would likely violate federal law. But the justices granted an emergency appeal from the administration seeking permission to enforce a Feb. 11 executive order that instructed agencies to carry out dramatic 'reductions in force.' In April, roughly 10,000 HHS employees received termination notices — though a few hundred have been reinstated since then. Even so: The high court said it wasn't assessing the legality of any particular agency's layoff plans, nor any moves taken so far to implement those plans. Litigation over the downsizing efforts is sure to continue. But for now, the justices said, the administration can enforce the executive order and a memo from the Office of Management and Budget that implements it. The high court's unsigned decision — which the majority explained in two terse paragraphs — lifts an injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who had blocked 21 agencies, including HHS, from complying with the mass layoff orders in May. Key context: It's still unclear exactly what the order will mean for federal health agencies. The Supreme Court's order specifies that it is granting the stay because 'the Government is likely to succeed on its argument that the Executive Order and Memorandum are lawful.' However, it clarifies that 'We express no view on the legality of any Agency RIF and Reorganization Plan produced or approved pursuant to the Executive Order and Memorandum' — allowing other legal challenges to continue. The HHS reorganization is facing several other legal challenges, including one where a federal judge temporarily blocked much of the reorganization effort. In that case, U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose in Rhode Island ruled that 19 states that sued over the layoffs and termination of congressionally mandated programs have shown 'irreparable harm' from the cuts. 'The Court concludes the States have shown a likelihood of success on their claims that the HHS's action was both arbitrary and capricious as well as contrary to law,' DuBose wrote. That injunction, however, applies specifically to terminated employees in the CDC, the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, as well as employees who work on the Head Start program. WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE. The FDA is warning people not to inhale nitrous oxide products, often referred to as 'whippets.' Send your tips, scoops and feedback to khooper@ and sgardner@ and follow along @kelhoops and @sophie_gardnerj. Research Corner SHIFTING JOURNAL POLICIES — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not a fan of major scientific journals. New HHS policies are starting to reflect that, POLITICO's Erin Schumaker reports. On Tuesday, the NIH said it would cap the amount that publishers of scientific journals can charge government-backed researchers to make their work publicly available starting in fiscal 2026. According to the NIH, some major publishers charge upward of $13,000 per article for immediate open access. The charges are in addition to subscription fees the government pays the publishers. High publishing costs are a double hit to taxpayers who already fund the underlying NIH research, the statement said. The NIH said it pays one publisher $2 million in subscription fees and tens of millions in processing charges. JAMA, The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the cap. The move is just the latest iteration of Kennedy's HHS taking action to boost oversight of government research in the publications. In April, the agency moved up the timeline for making peer-reviewed NIH-funded research publicly available immediately without an embargo. The policy went into effect on July 1. And in May, Kennedy threatened to ban NIH scientists from publishing their work in certain journals. Speaking on the 'Ultimate Human' podcast, Kennedy said The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and The Lancet, three of the most influential medical journals in the world, were 'corrupt' and publish studies funded and approved by pharmaceutical companies. 'Unless those journals change dramatically, we are going to stop NIH scientists from publishing in them and we're going to create our own journals in-house,' he said. The NIH is the world's largest funder of health research. Both JAMA and the NEJM also received letters from the Department of Justice probing them for partisanship. At the time, a JAMA spokesperson said the journal had nothing to add when asked about Kennedy's remarks, while The NEJM and The Lancet did not respond to requests for comment. HHS also did not respond to requests for comment. Key context: Both NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary helped launch a publication, the Journal of the Academy of Public Health, to promote open conversation among scientists. Both officials are on leave from the journal's editorial board. In Congress IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED … House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) is urging Republicans to leave the door open to passing several Medicaid-related provisions that were cut out of the party's massive reconciliation package, POLITICO's Mia McCarthy reports. 'There may be a longer list of things that were kicked out by the Senate parliamentarian as noncompliant with the Byrd rule — I think we should make another run at that and look for ways to structure the provisions so that it's more fundamentally budgetary in impact and policy,' the Texas Republican said during the press call Tuesday afternoon. 'I suspect that's why they were kicked out.' Arrington specifically pointed to a provision stripped in the Senate from the House-passed megabill that would have prohibited Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming surgeries and another that would have banned noncitizens from tapping into Medicaid resources. Key context: Those provisions were dropped from the bill for not complying with the so-called Byrd rule, which limits the provisions that can be included in a bill moving through Congress through the reconciliation process. The reconciliation process allows lawmakers to skirt the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate. What's next: Echoing Speaker Mike Johnson's recent comments, Arrington said he suspects GOP leaders will attempt to do two more party-line packages in the 119th Congress, with the next one slated for the fall. … TRY, TRY AGAIN — A controversial plan that didn't make it into the final version of President Donald Trump's signature policy package has found new life, according to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), saying he believes he's secured White House and Senate leadership support to get another chance at repealing an expansion of Medicaid offerings, POLITICO's Josh Gerstein and Hassan Ali Kanu report. 'I think I pretty well have a commitment. They're going to do that,' Johnson told reporters of the prospects that Republicans would reconsider a provision that would end the federal government's 90 percent cost-share of funding for new enrollees in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Afterwards, new enrollees would have seen their medical costs reimbursed by the federal government at rates as low as 50 percent. Johnson added that he voted for Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' largely because he was given assurances of the proposed cuts, despite his significant concerns about the deficit projections under the bill. Johnson and other proponents of the repeal argued that states have gamed the system by leveraging artificial increases in Medicaid spending to draw in more federal funding. And according to estimates, the policy change would have cut spending by $313 billion — putting a major dent in the package's overall price tag over which fiscal hawks fretted. Despite Johnson's insistence that he has a promise on pursuing this proposal in the coming months, nothing is set in stone. Senior Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the White House, meanwhile, continue to deny they made any side deals as a condition of winning over holdouts. AROUND THE AGENCIES TEXAS PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has declared a public health emergency in Texas after catastrophic flooding in the state's Hill Country resulted in at least 110 deaths. 'This emergency declaration allows health care providers from across the country to step in quickly and support survivors and their families without delay,' Kennedy wrote on social media platform X on Tuesday. Declaring a public health emergency for Texas allows Kennedy to tap into a variety of resources, including the Public Health Emergency Fund, to respond to the crisis. He can also grant extensions or waive sanctions if the state can't comply with its routine requirements to report data to HHS. Lobbying Horizon Government Affairs, a healthcare lobbying giant, has merged with Monument Advocacy, a private equity-backed lobbying firm. WHAT WE'RE READING POLITICO's Katelyn Cordero reports on a settlement reached in a class action suit over New York's troubled home care program.

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