WSJ What’s News
Political Crisis in Germany as Merz Fails to Win First Vote as Chancellor
Tue, 06 May 2025
A.M. Edition for May 6. Germany enters a period of political uncertainty as Friedrich Merz, winner of the recent election, fails to secure enough support in a first-round vote in parliament to be confirmed as the country’s next chancellor. Plus, the WSJ speaks to Harvard’s president as the White House cuts off the university from new federal funding. And new details emerge about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s widespread use of Signal for official Pentagon business. Luke Vargas hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The Trump administration cuts off Harvard from new federal funding, plus political crisis in Germany as election winner Friedrich Merz fails to become the country's next chancellor.
Him not being elected on the first ballot is a major surprise. It certainly weakens him as a candidate. It is not possible to say who exactly was responsible for this because the vote is secret, but it is certainly unprecedented in German history.
And a storm of uncertainty makes the fence job a whole lot harder as policymakers meet today. It's Tuesday, May 6th. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.
We begin with the Trump administration's battle with leading American universities, as the Education Department has informed Harvard that it's been cut off from any new federal grants, with Secretary Linda McMahon accusing the school in a scathing letter of violating federal law and losing its privilege of partnering with the federal government, adding that it could instead draw on its $53 billion endowment and tap wealthy alumni.
As a part of the funding fight, the government has demanded oversight of Harvard's admissions, faculty hiring, and governance in order to address what it said was the school's failure to stop harassment of Jewish students on campus. A Harvard spokesperson said those demands would have chilling implications for higher education.
And in an interview with the journal, University President Alan Garber said the administration's attack on fellow Ivy League school Columbia had in part informed his decision to fight.
What I have heard is that Columbia had still not resolved their issues with the federal government after many weeks of negotiations. So undoubtedly, that has made institutions think that that may not always be the most promising path.
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