“Defund Harvard.” Elise Stefanik & Gary Gensler 4/16/25

Squawk Pod

The Trump administration’s standoff with Harvard has frozen $2.2B in grants to the university. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is a Harvard alumna as well as Chairwoman of the Republican Leadership, and she’s calling to “defund Harvard.” For Rep. Stefanik, the government has a right to demand changes on campus and to withhold grant money. She discusses issues of free speech and antisemitism on college campuses. In his first interview since leaving office, former SEC Chair Gary Gensler weighs in on tariffs, negotiating with China, cryptocurrencies, and the betting markets. Plus, United Airlines is offering two profit outlooks, just in case the economy falls into a recession, and critical minerals may be the Trump administration’s next target for tariffs.

Elise Stefanik - 12:30

Gary Gensler - 31:11

In this episode:

Rep. Elise Stefanik, @EliseStefanik

Kelly Evans, @KellyCNBC

Joe Kernen, @JoeSquawk

Andrew Ross Sorkin, @andrewrsorkin

Katie Kramer, @Kramer_Katie