Trump’s 13th Week: Tariff Tango, Deportation Drama, and a Harvard Standoff

This week at the White House was anything but dull. President Donald Trump sat down with leaders from El Salvador and Italy, tackling thorny issues like tariffs, immigration, and education funding.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Washington amid looming tariffs against the European Union, set to take effect in June. Both she and Trump showed confidence that their countries would hammer out a deal before the deadline. Trump, never one to undersell, reassured the press: "There will be a trade deal, 100%." Meloni, meanwhile, made it clear she wouldn’t have made the trip if she didn’t trust the U.S. as a partner, hoping to invite Trump to broader trade talks between Italy and Europe. The optimism was thick enough to slice with a bread knife—let’s hope it ages better than a supermarket cannoli.

Vice President JD Vance kept the diplomatic wheels turning, meeting Meloni in Rome to continue hashing out economic policy.

Meanwhile, Trump kicked off the week with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, sparking debate over whether El Salvador should return Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, a Maryland resident deported due to what the administration called an "administrative error." Despite U.S. requests, Bukele stood firm, calling it "preposterous" to expect El Salvador to send him back, especially since Abrego-Garcia is accused of MS-13 gang ties. The Supreme Court recently ordered the U.S. government to facilitate Garcia's release and ensure his case is handled fairly, but Bukele was quick to point out that, as president, he doesn’t exactly have a teleportation device to send people north.

The plot thickened when the Justice Department released documents alleging domestic violence by Abrego-Garcia, claims brought by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez. She backed her allegations with documentation of injuries, making an already tangled case even messier.

Harvard found itself in the administration’s crosshairs again. After refusing Trump’s requests for campus reforms—ranging from auditing viewpoints to eliminating all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives—the administration announced a freeze on over $2 billion in federal funding. Harvard President Alan M. Garber denounced the demands, saying they overstepped constitutional bounds and didn’t actually address antisemitism as claimed. He accused the administration of trying to micromanage the "intellectual conditions" at Harvard. If you thought finals week was stressful, try losing two billion dollars in research cash.

On the health front, Trump signed an executive order targeting rising prescription drug prices. The order directs the Department of Health and Human Services to standardize Medicare payments for prescription drugs—whether you get them at a hospital or your local pharmacy. According to the White House, this could slash costs for patients by up to 60%. Hospitals will now pay the same as the government, which could mean up to 35% lower prices for certain medications. With drug prices having jumped more than 15% in just a year, and nearly half those increases outpacing inflation, this move is likely to make waves for patients and pharmaceutical companies alike.