Trump on a multi-front rampage: War on Immigrants, War on Education, War on Trade, War on Judiciary.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to limit President Trump’s trade authority, said Tuesday that he thinks Congress has “delegated too much authority to the president.”
The AP sued three top White House officials earlier this year after its journalists were banned from the Oval Office and Air Force One because the outlet refused to change its stylebook guidelines to use “Gulf of America” after Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico. On 4/8/25 U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, an appointee of President Trump, directed the White House to resume allowing the AP into the Oval Office, Air Force One and other limited spaces when they’re made available to other press pool members.
McFadden wrote: “No, the Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists—be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere—it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” he wrote. “The Constitution requires no less.”
Trump escalated the trade war with China. After an initial tariff of 54% announce on April 2, China shot back with a 54% tariff on US goods. Trump then increased tariffs on Chinese goods to 104% and China increased its tariffs on US goods to 84%. Trump again increased tariffs to 145% and China increased theirs to 125%. Stock markets around the world reacted poorly with deep downturns. However, just before all the increased tariffs for other countries were to go into effect, Trump announced a 90-day pause on all but the tariffs on China. He suggested he was in talks with China to make a deal but Chinese authorities denied any such talks were taking place. Trump seems to be trying to calm the markets, which seems to have worked to some extent, but economists warn that the effect of the tariffs already in place and the uncertainty caused by the pause may be felt months ahead and may even extend into the holiday season. Trump seems to have gotten the message as he has begun to exempt some consumer products from the tariffs.
Trump’s approval rating in his handling of immigration has dropped below 50%, possibly due, in part, to the deportation of a Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador on the claim that he was a member of the MS-13 gang, which he and his family deny. Kilmar was under a judicial order protecting him from deportation. A federal judge ordered Trump to facilitate Kilmar’s return but Trump claimed he could do nothing because he was not in the US anymore. The case went to the Supreme Court which upheld the lower court’s ruling, asking only for more clarity about how Kilmar’s return might be arranged. Trump’s only attempt to have him returned was to have the President of El Salvador come to the White House where he told Trump the man was a criminal and would not be returned. The judge was not impressed with the effort. He is now preparing to hold Administration officials in contempt of court.
The most blatant action occurred on April 25 when FBI agents arrested a Wisconsin Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan who was accused of “obstructing a proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent their arrest.” Flores Ruiz, a Mexican national, was arrested after being due in Dugan’s courtroom on three misdemeanor counts of battery stemming from a fight with roommates. It was reported that Dugan told ICE agents they could not arrest Ruiz, an immigrant without permanent legal status, without speaking to the Chief Judge. When the ICE agents left, Dugan is reported to have told Ruiz he was free to leave and showed him a side exit. Despite Dugan’s actions, the FBI reported that Ruiz was chased down and placed in custody.
Hundreds of foreign students at dozens of colleges across the country have had their higher education experience turned upside down as the Trump administration has expanded its immigration crackdown beyond those involved in the pro-Palestinian protests. International students are seeing their visas revoked for infractions as minor as traffic violations, while colleges are having to check immigration databases to find out whether their students are still allowed to be in the country.
Trump has also threatened to withhold billions of dollars in federal grants to major universities on claims that they have not protected students sufficiently from antisemitism or their diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) programs are racially biased. To protect their funds, Trump has a series of demands involving how universities manage student life and what and how they teach. Harvard was the first to push back, declare it will not comply and sue the Administration.
In a dizzying array of back-and-forth, Trump has been attempting to accumulate more and more power to himself, allowing him to change the federal government, disband agencies, defund anything he doesn’t like—think NPR—or doesn’t understand the need for—like humanitarian aid given by USAID—or force his own ideas in unusual places—like K-12 school curricula, while one after another, the courts either block actions he has taken or require the Administration to show good cause for what they are doing. Thankfully, even the unbalanced Supreme Court has not been always in his favor. On April 7, the Supreme Court ordered the Trump Administration to give sufficient notice to anyone detained under the Alien Enemies Act (without ruling yet whether Trump has used that act legally) before deportation.
And it's only been 100 days.