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New York Post
11-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Democrats' road not taken, Columbia's ‘academic freedom' hypocrites and other commentary
Liberal: Democrats' Road Not Taken 'Democrats currently are at a fork in the road to their political future and how that future turns out depends on which path they choose,' muses The Liberal Patriot's Ruy Teixeira. They can take either 'the party of restoration' path or the less traveled 'party of change' one. Polling shows 'voters want change — big change'; the 'party's brand is in wretched shape and views of Democratic governance are negative.' Advertisement Dems 'will have to work really hard to convince voters, especially working-class voters, that they embody change.' Democrats 'don't realize that they are at a fork in the road,' yet if they keep on the nothing-but-anti-Trump path it 'will make them the party of restoration in a change era — and ensure that the political breakthrough they are seeking will continue to elude them.' Campus watch: Columbia's 'Academic Freedom' Hypocrites Critics of President Trump's 'enforcement of civil-rights laws' at universities gripe that a crackdown on pro-Hamas protesters will destroy academic freedom, notes Commentary's Seth Mandel. Advertisement Yet it's the 'anti-Zionists' who've been 'erasing academic freedom,' and punishing them 'will help restore it.' The 'tentifada mobs' made that point clearly 'when they stormed Butler Library and forced nearly a thousand students to stop studying' for finals. Even groups that usually defend the goons said protesters went too far. Yet if academic-freedom groups had led the fight 'to restore the academic freedom of the Jewish students under siege' from 'campus Hamasniks,' then perhaps now 'they wouldn't be fighting to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to Harvard and Columbia and the rest.' Advertisement From the left: How US Higher-Ed Turned Useless As professors gripe about the 'climate of fear' stemming from Gov. Ron DeSantis' and President Trump's DEI crackdowns, Racket News' Matt Taibbi observes it's just 'the latest in a long chain of official actions and reactions, during which American higher education became increasingly a) expensive and b) useless.' Remember: Obama-era 'federal pressures' on campus sexual-harassment led to a 2022 poll showing that 'huge pluralities of Americans held their tongues for fear of 'retaliation and harsh criticism.'' DeSantis' anti-DEI rules 'go too far,' trading 'one brand of groupthink for another': Yes, 'universities have become madhouses and ignorance-factories whose purpose is not to teach but produce sinecures for ed-sector dingbats,' but 'I don't want federal thought police of any stripe sitting atop them.' From the right: Bernie's Private-Jet Hypocrisy Advertisement Sen. Bernie Sanders won ridicule with news 'that he spent $221,723 in campaign money on private jets for his 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour,' scoffs the Washington Examiner's Byron York. Bernie's excuse? 'You run a campaign and you do three or four or five rallies in a week . . . That's the only way you can get around.' Yet, notes York, 'Sanders has long had a taste for private jets'; indeed, his 'requests for private jets were so frequent that they at first irritated and then angered Clinton staffers' during the 2016 campaign. Bernie's 'message is basically that billionaires are destroying American democracy,' but he has something in common with them: They also 'defend their use of private planes by saying they are just so busy' they can't fly commercial like the little people. Law prof: Partisan Persecution of Lawyers Isn't New 'I opposed the executive orders of President Trump targeting law firms,' writes Jonathan Turley at The Hill, but 'many of those objecting today to the targeting of Democratic firms and lawyers were the very same people who targeted conservative lawyers for years.' Indeed, 'I personally know lawyers who were told to drop Republican cases or else find new employment — including partners who had to leave their longstanding firms.' Many 'deans and law professors protesting Trump's orders' had 'previously purged their schools of Republicans and conservatives.' Advertisement At least 'there could be a modicum of recognition of the years of systematically purging conservative lawyers and law professors by some of these very critics.' — Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
The Hill
25-02-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Evening Report — Moment of truth for House GOP budget proposal
TRUMP FIRST 100 DAYS House GOP budget resolution teeters on the brink SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON (R-La.) and House GOP leaders are scrambling to secure support for their budget resolution to implement President Trump 's agenda, but the math looks grim at the moment. At least four Republicans have said they plan to vote against the measure. Johnson can only afford to lose one Republican if all Democrats vote against it, as expected. The vote is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. ET tonight after advancing along a party-line vote earlier in the day. Johnson and his GOP leadership team are feverishly whipping votes, but a postponement could be in the works if the support isn't there. 'There may be a vote tonight, may not be,' Johnson said. 'Stay tuned.' Democratic absences could potentially push the GOP budget proposal to a narrow victory. Four Democrats were missing from this morning's votes. If that holds, Johnson could potentially survive three GOP defections. Early in the process, it appeared Republican moderates concerned about potential cuts to Medicaid could sink the resolution. But GOP leaders emphasized that they believe they can find adequate Medicaid savings in the final bill without cutting payments. Now, it's the GOP fiscal hawks that are staging a minor revolt. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said they plan to vote against the measure because it doesn't do enough to address the deficit. 'If the Republican budget passes, the deficit gets worse, not better,' Massie posted on X. A TOUGH SPOT FOR JOHNSON Johnson is in a bit of a bind. He can't slash Medicaid, a primary driver of government spending, for risk of losing GOP moderates. A new poll found 71 percent of Trump voters oppose Medicaid cuts. Trump has previously vowed not to touch Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare payments. However, the current proposed spending cuts aren't enough to satisfy GOP fiscal hawks. Trump has endorsed Johnson's 'big, beautiful bill,' which includes all of his policy priorities, including tax cuts and border security funding. The Senate last week passed its own budget resolution with relative ease, breaking the tax cuts and spending initiatives into separate bills. 'The longer we go, the more likely that is,' Cole said. 💡 Perspectives: • Chris Stirewalt: Will the working-class GOP really cut health insurance? • The Liberal Patriot: How should Dems respond to Trump's early actions? • The Wall Street Journal: Trump sweeps out Biden's officers. • Salon: Can Trump actually ban DEI? The confusion is the point. • City Journal: How left-wing activism corrupted America's schools. Read more: • Democrats warn of 'largest Medicaid cut in American history.' • Dems see GOP's Tillis as vulnerable after Hegseth, Gabbard votes. • Student loan borrowers face abrupt 180 amid GOP budget plans. CATCH UP QUICK A federal judge indefinitely blocked the Trump administration's freeze of federal funding, dealing a blow to President Trump's sweeping efforts to realign government spending with his agenda. The White House will take over which outlets are allowed into the press pool covering the president, taking control from the White House Correspondents Association amid a feud over the 'Gulf of America' with The Associated Press. Republicans are pushing new FBI Director Kash Patel to release records related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Attorney General Pam Bondi said last week the file is sitting on her desk for review. The White House disclosed the name of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) administrator: Amy Gleason. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit the White House on Friday, Trump told reporters Tuesday. NEWS THIS AFTERNOON Musk deadline comes and goes amid confusion, pushback Elon Musk's deadline for federal workers to prove their worth over email or lose their jobs has passed, although the ramifications are still unclear. The Trump administration appeared to backtrack on Musk's order, with the Office of Personnel Management telling government workers their participation was 'voluntary.' However, hours before the midnight deadline Musk declared for a second time that failure to respond to his email would lead to termination. Several federal agencies, including newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, instructed their employees to disregard Musk's demand. Musk will attend Trump's first Cabinet meeting Wednesday, along with several agency heads that told their employees to ignore the order. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Musk's email, saying that more than 1 million people had chosen to respond to 'this very simple task.' However, she said the agency heads would ultimately decide what's best for their employees. 'The agency heads will determine the best practices for their employees at their specific agencies,' Leavitt said. Republican senators are fed up, expressing frustration both with Musk's chaotic process and his lack of empathy for government workers. A sampling: 'I think that any process you undergo where you're trying to find efficiencies, if that involves reductions in force, it needs to be done in a respectful way, obviously respectful of the people involved,' said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). 'I don't think it was handled very well in terms of the surprise element of it or what the point of it was,' said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito ( Here's the latest on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE): • More than 20 staffers in an office overtaken by DOGE have resigned. • The Department of Veterans Affairs fired another 1,400 employees, adding to the more than 1,000 workers who were axed earlier this month. • The bank accounts of nonprofits administering a $20 billion climate program have been frozen as the Trump administration scrutinizes the program. • The Office of the Special Counsel determined that six probationary employees were improperly terminated and asked an employment body to intervene. That move could impact thousands of recently fired employees. 💡 Perspectives: • The Washington Post: Deficit-funded stimulus checks? No thanks. • The Hill: Moving fast and breaking things doesn't work in government. • The Hill: Bring down the DOGE hammer on the Pentagon. Washington roundup: Border crossings hit 15-year low The Trump administration is boasting about hitting a 15-year low in border crossings, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying there were only 200 encounters over the weekend. New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) is closing the Roosevelt Hotel migrant center, which had been used to process refugees and asylum seekers in New York City. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt cited an Associated Press report Tuesday detailing a 'reverse migration effect,' in which migrants that made the dangerous trek to the U.S. border turn around and go home. However, the Trump administration suffered several setbacks in the courts. A federal judge blocked the administration from suspending the U.S. refugee program, which was enacted on Trump's first day in office. And another federal judge blocked the Trump administration from conducting immigration raids at Quaker, Baptist and Sikh places of worship. Senate Democrats are also challenging the Trump administration's transfer of migrants to detention centers in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. • After a month delay, President Trump says tariffs on two of America's largest trade partners are 'on time' and 'on schedule.' Trump says he'll slap a 25 percent levy on goods coming from Canada and Mexico beginning March 4, unless those countries make further concessions to satisfy the president's demands on trade and border security. There are also questions about the status of a U.S.-China trade rule Trump canceled and then reinstated earlier this month. The rule provoked confusion around package deliveries from China and an outcry from businesses.
