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US probes Harvard and its law review for 'race-based discrimination'
President Donald Trump’s administration said on Monday it was probing whether Harvard University and the Harvard Law Review violated civil rights laws when the journal’s editors fast-tracked consideration of an article written by a member of a racial minority.
News of the new probe came hours after a federal judge agreed to expedite Harvard University’s lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from freezing $2.3bn in federal funding that the Ivy League school has warned will threaten vital medical and scientific research, Reuters reported.
The announcement of the probe by the US Departments of Education and Health and Human Services said Harvard Law Review editors may have engaged in “race-based discrimination” in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“Harvard Law Review’s article selection process appears to pick winners and losers on the basis of race, employing a spoils system in which the race of the legal scholar is as, if not more, important than the merit of the submission,” Craig Trainor, the Education Department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement.
A Harvard University representative said the school is “committed to ensuring that the programs and activities it oversees are in compliance with all applicable laws and to investigating any credibly alleged violations.”
Donald Trump plans to cushion the impact of his tariffs on US carmakers by easing some duties on foreign vehicle parts, his administration has said.
“President Trump is building an important partnership with both the domestic automakers and our great American workers,” the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said in a statement provided by the White House.
“This deal is a major victory for the president’s trade policy by rewarding companies who manufacture domestically, while providing runway to manufacturers who have expressed their commitment to invest in America and expand their domestic manufacturing.”
The move means car companies paying tariffs would not be charged other levies, such as those on steel and aluminium,, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the development.
Carmakers would be able to secure a partial reimbursement for tariffs on imported auto parts, based on the value of their US car production, under the plans.
Cars made outside the US will still be subject to Trump’s tariffs but will be exempt from other levies. The plan is expected to be officially confirmed later on Tuesday.
Carney warns 'Trump is trying to break us' as president marks 100 days in office
Good morning and welcome to our blog covering US politics as Donald Trump prepares to mark the first 100 days of his second presidency and as his northern neighbour Mark Carney celebrates his election win in Canada with a warning that “Trump is trying to break us”.
My colleague David Smith offers this critique of the chaotic last 100 days:
In three months Trump has shoved the world’s oldest continuous democracy towards authoritarianism at a pace that tyrants overseas would envy. He has used executive power to take aim at Congress, the law, the media, culture and public health.
Still aggrieved by his 2020 election defeat and 2024 criminal conviction, his regime of retribution has targeted perceived enemies and proved that no grudge is too small.
You can read his excellent, full piece here:
Trump’s rule was key to Carney’s win amid the US president’s trade tariffs and even suggestions of annexing Canada. Accepting victory this morning, Carney warned:
“America wants our land, our resources, our water. These are not idle threats. Trump is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never happen.”
In other news:
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Nearly 100 days in office and Donald Trump continued to steadily address his campaign promises to crack down on immigration and focus on law and order. The president issued three new executive orders on Monday, which included taking aims at so-called “sanctuary cities” and shoring up legal protections for police accused of misconduct.
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Prosecutors filed charges against Mario Bustamante Leiva for allegedly stealing Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem’s purse.
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Trump created a “Fema review council” to “fix a terribly broken system” of delivering aid to Americans struck by disasters, naming defense secretary Pete Hegseth and Noem to the council.
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House Republicans proposed paying tens of billions of dollars for Trump’s border wall construction.
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Trump threatened to veto the bipartisan Senate resolution focused on “liberation day” tariffs.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are seeking unaccompanied immigrant children, sparking fears of a “backdoor family separation”.
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As Canadians headed to the polls, Trump issued a statement threatening Canada’s independent sovereignty, describing the border between the two nations as an “artificially drawn line from many years ago”.
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Congressman Gerry Connolly, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, announced he will not run for re-election after being diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer.
