Higher Education and Leadership

 The Center for American Progress is an independent nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. Our aim is not just to change the conversation, but to change the country.

The Google AI overview on the topic “The Trump administration has reduced funding for health and education” presented the following summary drawing on information from the Center for American Progress.

The Trump administration (as of mid-2026) has proposed and implemented significant cuts to health and education, aiming to reduce federal spending by billions, targeting agencies like the CDC and NIH while seeking to eliminate specific education grants. Proposed budgets include slashing CDC funding by up to 50% and reducing NIH funding by over 10%.

On April 3, 2026, President Donald Trump submitted his annual budget request to Congress, calling for historic cuts to domestic funding and shifting that money toward historic increases in the military budget. Across steep cuts to education, housing, health, and other priorities, the budget calls for cutting nondefense discretionary funding—the portion of the budget that funds most domestic activities aside from Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—to its lowest levels as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) since at least the Eisenhower administration. In contrast, the Trump administration’s budget calls for the biggest annual increase in the military budget as a share of GDP outside a ground war in U.S. history—and the largest increase inclusive of ground wars in more than 50 years. Within the context of the war in Iran, the budget should be seen as taking money away from Americans and sinking it into war. (Miller, n.d.)

The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. AP reported that Donald Trump decisively won Nevada's Republican caucuses for his third straight victory in February 2016. Trump told supporters in Las Vegas that he got votes from well educated and poorly educated people, adding "I love the poorly educated." (Feb. 24, 2016).

The leaders in Canada and Mexico may not be recipients of the love of the President for the poorly educated.

References

Miller, A. (n.d.). About Us. Center for American Progress. Retrieved June 10, 2026, from https://www.americanprogress.org/about-us/

Possible Genocide in Gaza

Pope Francis is one of the most high-profile figures on the international scene to imply that Israel's actions in Gaza could amount to genocide.

Smoke rises from North Gaza, as seen from Ashkelon 

Reuters reports that Pope Francis suggests an international study into possible genocide in Gaza.

"We should investigate carefully to assess whether this fits into the technical definition (of genocide) formulated by international jurists and organizations," the pope said in the excerpts, published by Italian daily La Stampa. (Pope Francis Suggests International Study Into Possible Genocide in Gaza, n.d.)

Vatican News explains that in a book for the Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis addresses current issues, including the suffering of war displaced and the famine in Palestine. He underscores the importance of respecting human dignity. The book comes out on Tuesday 19 November in Italy, Spain and Latin America, and will follow in other countries.

In one passage the Pope mentions the humanitarian crisis in Gaza saying that what has happened must be investigated. Speaking of nations receiving war refugees, he says "In the Middle East, where the open doors of nations like Jordan or Lebanon continue to be a salvation for millions of people fleeing conflicts in the region: I am thinking above all of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory." 

"According to some experts," Pope Francis writes, "what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide. It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies." (Pope: Investigate Whether Genocide Is Taking Place in Gaza, Respect Human Dignity, n.d.)

Middle East Eye staff write that Pope Francis has called for an investigation into the allegations of "experts" about genocide in Gaza.

In a new book, Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World, the Catholic leader for the first time suggested that Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip could be characterised as a genocide.

"According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide," he wrote, in extracts published on Sunday in Italy's La Stampa daily.

"This should be studied carefully to determine whether (the situation) corresponds to the technical definition formulated by jurists and international organisations." (Pope Francis Has Called for an Investigation Into the Allegations of "Experts" About Genocide in Gaza., n.d.)

Giada Zampano from AP Rome reports that Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff’s jubilee year.

It’s the first time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. In September, he said Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon have been “immoral” and disproportionate, and that its military has gone beyond the rules of war.

The book, by Hernán Reyes Alcaide and based on interviews with the Pope, is entitled “Hope never disappoints. Pilgrims towards a better world.” It will be released on Tuesday ahead of the pope’s 2025 jubilee. Francis’ yearlong jubilee is expected to bring more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome to celebrate the Holy Year.

“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope said in excerpts published Sunday by the Italian daily La Stampa. (Pope Francis Calls for Investigation to Determine if Israel’s Attacks in Gaza Constitute ‘Genocide’, n.d.)

Reuters notes that last week Francis met at the Vatican with a delegation of former hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, who are advocating for the release of family members and others still being held.

References

Pope Francis calls for investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute ‘genocide’. (n.d.). Associated Press News: Breaking News, Latest Headlines and Videos | AP News. Retrieved November 17, 2024, from https://apnews.com/ 

Pope Francis has called for an investigation into the allegations of "experts" about genocide in Gaza. (n.d.). Middle East Eye: News, Opinion, and Analysis | Middle East Eye. Retrieved November 17, 2024, from https://www.middleeasteye.net/ 

Pope Francis suggests international study into possible genocide in Gaza. (n.d.). Reuters. Retrieved November 17, 2024, from https://www.reuters.com/world/ 

Pope: Investigate whether genocide is taking place in Gaza, respect human dignity. (n.d.). Vatican News: News from the Vatican - News about the Church. Retrieved November 17, 2024, from https://www.vaticannews.va/ 

Moving Away from NATO Governments

A question about the policy of Israel that leads to the endgame in the war in Gaza concerns how much Israel may be moving away from the scenario that the NATO countries, especially the United States, envision for the area even as they endorse financial and military aid to the country.

Endgame in the Israel Gaza War

Samia Nakhoul, Matt Spetalnick and Alexander Cornwell reporting for Reuters noted that some of U.S. President Joe Biden's aides are concerned that while Israel may craft an effective plan to inflict lasting damage to Hamas, it has yet to formulate an exit strategy.

Trips to Israel by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin this past week had stressed the need to focus on the post-war plan for Gaza, the source added.

Arab officials are also alarmed that Israel hasn't set out a clear plan for the future of the enclave, ruled by Hamas since 2006 and home to 2.3 million people.

"Israel doesn't have an endgame for Gaza. Their strategy is to drop thousands of bombs, destroy everything and go in, but then what? They have no exit strategy for the day after," said one regional security source.

An Israeli invasion has yet to start, but Gaza authorities say 3,500 Palestinians have already been killed by the aerial bombardment, around a third of them children - a larger death toll than in any previous conflict between Hamas and Israel. (Nakhoul et al., 2023)

Biden, on a visit to Israel on Wednesday, told Israelis that justice needed to be served to Hamas, though he cautioned that after the 9/11 attacks on New York, the U.S. had made mistakes.

The "vast majority of Palestinians are not Hamas", he said. "Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people." (Nakhoul et al., 2023)

Aaron David Miller, a Middle East expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Biden's visit would have given him a chance to press Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to think through issues such as the proportional use of force and the longer-term plans for Gaza before any invasion.

Miller, a former U.S. Middle East negotiator, expressed deep skepticism about the potential for establishing a post-Hamas government to rule Gaza.

"I could paint you a picture more appropriate to a galaxy far, far away and not on planet Earth on how you could combine the U.N., the Palestinian Authority, the Saudis, the Egyptians, led by the U.S. marshalling the Europeans, to basically convert Gaza from an open-air prison to something much better," he said.

In the meantime, calls for the creation of humanitarian corridors within Gaza and escape routes for Palestinian civilians have drawn a strong reaction from Arab neighbors.

They fear an Israeli invasion will spark a new permanent mass wave of displacement, a replay of the 1948 Israeli war of independence and 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Millions of Palestinians who were forced to flee then have remained stranded as refugees in the countries that hosted them.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he rejected the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land into the Sinai peninsula bordering Gaza, adding that any such move would turn the area into a base for attacks against Israel. He said Egyptians in their millions would protest against any such move. (Nakhoul et al., 2023)

Evan Dyer of CBC News reports that the Israeli leader and Hamas are deadly enemies — and allies in opposing a 2-state solution. President Joe Biden spoke about what the U.S. wants to see after the war.

"When this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next," he said. "And in our view, it has to be a two-state solution." (Dyer, 2023)

Dyer comments that neither Hamas nor Netanyahu share that vision.

As Netanyahu has pointed out, Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist and lays claim to all of the land "from the river to the sea."

And just twelve days before the Hamas massacres in southern Israel, Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly, holding a map of what he called "The New Middle East" that showed all of the West Bank and Gaza, as well as East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights, as parts of an enlarged Israel, with no Palestinian state in sight. (Dyer, 2023)

A report by Amy Teibel of The Associated Press was published by CTV News identifying an Israeli ministry 'concept paper' that proposes transferring Gaza civilians to Egypt's Sinai, with Canada as a possible final destination.

An Israeli government ministry has drafted a wartime proposal to transfer the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million people to Egypt's Sinai peninsula, drawing condemnation from the Palestinians and worsening tensions with Cairo. In its report, the Intelligence Ministry -- a junior ministry that conducts research but does not set policy -- offered three alternatives "to effect a significant change in the civilian reality in the Gaza Strip in light of the Hamas crimes that led to the Sword of Iron war." The document's authors deem this alternative to be the most desirable for Israel's security. (Teibel, 2023)

Yoel Guzansky, a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said the paper threatened to damage relations with a key partner.

"If this paper is true, this is a grave mistake. It might cause a strategic rift between Israel and Egypt," said Guzansky, who said he has consulted for the ministry in the past. "I see it either as ignorance or someone who wants to negatively affect Israel-Egypt relations, which are very important at this stage."

Egypt is a valuable partner that cooperates behind the scenes with Israel, he said. If it is seen as overtly assisting an Israeli plan like this, especially involving the Palestinians, it could be "devastating to its stability."

Egypt would not necessarily be the Palestinian refugees' last stop. The document speaks about Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates supporting the plan either financially, or by taking in uprooted residents of Gaza as refugees and in the long term as citizens.

Canada's "lenient" immigration practices also make it a potential resettlement target. (Teibel, 2023)

The NATO countries who are supplying financial and military aid to Israel need to be active in Overcoming the Failed Tunes of the Netanyahu relationship with Gaza and carefully Assessing the Piper’s tune for signs of collective punishment and possible removal of Palestinians from Gaza.

References

Dyer, E. (2023, October 28). How Netanyahu's Hamas policy came back to haunt him — and Israel. CBC. Retrieved November 1, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/netanyahu-israel-gaza-hamas-1.7010035 

Nakhoul, S., Spetalnick, M., & Cornwell, A. (2023, October 19). What is Israel's endgame in Gaza invasion? Reuters. Retrieved November 1, 2023, from https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-endgame-no-sign-post-war-plan-gaza-2023-10-18/ 

Teibel, A. (2023, October 30). Israeli paper proposes transferring Gazans to Egypt's Sinai. CTV News. Retrieved November 1, 2023, from https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/israeli-ministry-concept-paper-proposes-transferring-gaza-civilians-to-egypt-s-sinai-with-canada-as-a-possible-final-destination-1.6623901