Overview

• Speaking at the White House, the president said Chinese nationals would be allowed to study in the U.S., a figure that would more than double the roughly 270,000 currently enrolled.
• He linked the move to ongoing negotiations with China following steep reciprocal tariffs and recent warnings of a 200% duty on Chinese-made magnets, with a tariff truce extended to November 10.
• Neither a timeline nor criteria were provided, leaving unclear how the target would mesh with enhanced screening and planned visa revocations announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May.
• Backlash erupted from MAGA-aligned figures, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and commentator Laura Loomer, while Fox News host Laura Ingraham challenged the policy on air.
• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended the approach, arguing that without such students the bottom 15% of U.S. colleges could go out of business.