Trump takes aim at California
Tomo Chien
March 31, 2025
Good morning. It’s Monday, and I hope you had a great weekend. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
The newsletter will be off tomorrow; I apologize for our recent absences.
1.
The Trump administration let loose on California last week, launching a half-dozen attacks on its universities and hot-button policies. One Democratic operative suggested the attacks were meant to distract from the week’s embarrassing news cycle. “Culture wars are the only thing they have going for them,” he said.
2.
An open letter penned by a USC faculty group implored the university to withhold students’ identifying information from federal investigators; continue paying employees if the school loses federal grant funding; and offer concrete guidance for handling ICE raids. The letter has over 240 signatures.
3.
A chaotic police chase started near USC Friday when a driver stole a flatbed truck at an Exposition Park body shop. Wild helicopter footage shows the truck proceeding to speed the wrong way, hop onto sidewalks, and smash through busy intersections before the driver was finally arrested in Long Beach.
4.
You can add USC’s philosophy department to this list of Ph.D. programs rescinding admissions offers, the Daily Nous reported. A reminder: As USC ramps up its budget cuts, we’re looking to catalogue everything on our live tracker. Know something we’re missing? Contact us confidentially.
5.
California’s border with Mexico, which just months ago was overwhelmed by a historic wave of migrants, is now practically empty. Processing camps are barren. Border Patrol arrests have plummeted. And aid workers are closing up shop. “To say there has been a dramatic change would be an understatement,” a Border Patrol official said.