Our forthcoming book is The Comeback: The 2024 Elections and American Politics. The second Trump administration is off to an ominous start.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told a room full of Alaska nonprofit leaders that the tumult of tariffs, executive orders, court battles, and cuts to federal services under the Trump administration are exceptionally concerning.
“We are all afraid,” Murkowski said, taking a long pause. “It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”
...Jade Walker at CNN:
“It’s called the checks and balances. And right, now we are not balancing as the Congress,” Murkowski said.
She expressed alarm at how the judiciary was increasingly being treated as a partisan entity, saying it was putting America in “a very dangerous place, because you stop believing in the rule of law.” And she called on Alaskans to “be affirmative” in protesting on behalf of programs they want to remain in place so that elected leaders are kept aware of where support and frustration exist among constituents.
“I think it’s important the concerns continue to be raised rather than letting the fatigue of the chaos grind you down,” Murkowski said.
Defy President Donald Trump and retribution will be swift. That’s the message the White House is sending to Harvard University after the school refused to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion policies, audit the viewpoints of students, faculty and staff and alter rules for on-campus protests. In response, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal grants at Harvard. The IRS is reportedly making plans to rescind the university's tax-exempt status. The Department of Homeland Security canceled two federal grants worth $2.7 million and threatened to strip Harvard of its ability to enroll international students unless it turns over its disciplinary records. And Trump trashed the school in a rant on his Truth Social site. As the university grapples with the sudden loss of funding, Harvard researchers are scrambling to figure out what to do about studies that are already in progress. Yet even as each school weighs having to cut budgets and staff, nearly 800 faculty members have signed a letter urging the university to resist the Trump administration’s demands.
