Trump admin probes imports of computer chips, pharmaceuticals

Tariff talks focus on computer chips, assessing America’s ability to handle the workload amid foreign manufacturing reliance. Also, Harvard University, upholding its independence, forgoes over $2 billion in federal funding due to on-campus protests. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, April 15, 2025.

Trump admin probes computer chip, pharmaceutical imports

The Trump administration has initiated investigations into the imports of computer chips, chip-making equipment and pharmaceuticals as part of the next steps toward implementing additional tariffs on these key items.

In notices posted to the Federal Register late Monday, April 14, the Commerce Department announced that it is investigating how imports of computer chips, equipment to make them and products that contain them — including many daily necessities such as cars, refrigerators and smartphones — affect national security.

Section 2-32 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allows the president to impose tariffs for national security purposes.

Although President Donald Trump paused many of his major tariff increases last week for 90 days, excluding imports from China, he stated that he still intends to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs, lumber, copper and computer chips.

The Commerce Department’s investigation aims to evaluate whether the U.S. can satisfy its own demand for computer chips and the impact of foreign manufacturing, assembly, testing and packaging in addressing those needs.

Meanwhile, Trump’s top economic adviser said Monday that the U.S. is close to reaching deals with more than 10 trading partners regarding the current tariffs that are on hold.

The president himself suggested he might temporarily exempt the auto industry from the tariffs he previously imposed to give carmakers time to overhaul their complex supply chains. He stated that they “need a little bit of time” to relocate production from Canada, Mexico and other parts of the world to the U.S.

El Salvador won’t return mistakenly deported Maryland man

The Trump administration announced that a Maryland man deported due to an administrative error will not be permitted to re-enter the U.S.

As Trump met with the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, in the Oval Office on Monday, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said that the decision to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not in the United States’ hands.

“No version of this legally ends up with him ever living here because he is a citizen of El Salvador. That is the president of El Salvador; your questions about it per the court can only be directed to him,” Miller said.

Miller argued that Abrego Garcia forfeited his deportation protection after Trump classified the MS-13 gang as a terrorist organization. Garcia’s family has refuted the administration’s allegations of any connections to the gang.

There is still a chance Abrego Garcia could be returned to the U.S. But as Straight Arrow News reporter Karah Rucker explains, El Salvador’s president is nixing the idea.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys told ABC News that they will be asking a judge to hold members of the Trump administration in contempt for defying their order to facilitate his return, stating that this may be the only way to prompt them to act quickly on the case.

Federal judge rules Trump can’t revoke legal status of certain migrants

On Tuesday, April 15, over half a million migrants who entered the U.S. under the Biden administration received a reprieve after recently being urged to self-deport by the Trump administration.

A federal judge in Boston has blocked Trump’s plan to terminate their legal status, effective next Thursday, April 24. The migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela have legal protection known as immigration parole.

Under the program, the Biden administration permitted migrants to fly to the U.S. if they had a sponsor there. Once in the U.S., the government granted them immigration parole and allowed them to work lawfully for two years.

However, the new administration recently stated that individuals would need to self-deport by April 24 or face arrest and deportation by federal agents.

Judge Indira Talwani ruled that mass parole terminations could not occur without each case being reviewed individually.

Harvard rejects federal funding agreement

Harvard University announced it would not cooperate with the Trump administration, declining a proposed deal to eliminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and evaluate international students for ideological issues, such as antisemitism. The decision will cost the Ivy League school billions in federal funding.

Straight Arrow News reporter Lauren Keenan has more details here.

The Trump administration has focused on colleges and universities as part of its crackdown on DEI programs and antisemitism on campuses nationwide.

Earlier this year, it cut $400 million in funding for Columbia University due to its handling of the pro-Palestinian protests that erupted on campus, leaving many Jewish students in fear as the war in Gaza unfolded in the Middle East, pitting Israel against Hamas.

Columbia then acquiesced to many of the White House’s demands.

On Thursday, April 10, the White House announced that it halted more than $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell University and approximately $790 million for Northwestern University.

Trump admin directs NIH to study gender-affirming care regret

The Trump administration directed the National Institutes of Health to investigate de-transitioning among transgender individuals and any “regret” they may feel after receiving gender-affirming care, according to an internal memo obtained by multiple outlets.

Matthew Memoli, then-acting director, sent out the memo two weeks ago. Several anonymous staffers shared the memo with NPR.

It reportedly instructs the NIH to study the effects of “social transition and/or chemical and surgical mutilation” in children who transition, with the White House specifically requesting research on “regret” and “de-transition” in both children and adults who have undergone gender-affirming care. It encompasses a range of social, psychological and medical treatments.

The memo emphasized the significance of the research for Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr., who are advocating for NIH funding announcements within six months.

WNBA prioritizes player safety during star-studded draft

The WNBA is welcoming its rookie class with the 2025 draft, bringing a new injection of star power after last year’s surge in popularity.

But like anything else, there have been growing pains.

Straight Arrow News sports reporter Chris Francis examines some of this year’s top draft picks and the changes the league will implement to ensure player safety.

The WNBA training camps open in two weeks on April 27.