The Trump administration has stated that it will not entertain a French politician’s request to return the Statue of Liberty to France.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing on Monday, “Absolutely not! My response to the unnamed French lower-level politician is to remind them: it is because of America that the French are not speaking German now, they should be grateful (to the United States).”
Leavitt’s remarks seem to refer to the allied relationship between the United States and France during World War II, when the two countries stood together to defeat Nazi Germany.
The day before, French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann claimed during a party convention in the European Parliament that the United States under the Trump administration no longer embodies the spirit of the Statue of Liberty.
In the 1880s, France gifted the Statue of Liberty to the United States as a symbol of official diplomacy and to commemorate the American spirit of independence from Britain and the end of slavery.
Glucksmann stated, “Some Americans choose to stand with tyrants, dismiss scientists pursuing freedom of research, and we say to these Americans: return the Statue of Liberty to us!”
Since President Trump’s second term began, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has dismissed thousands of researchers and public health officials and cut research grants across the country.
Industry experts worry that these actions may lead to research institutions lacking funding to maintain their daily operations.
Glucksmann mentioned that if the U.S. government does not intend to restore these positions and funds, France would be willing to welcome these American research institutions.
The Statue of Liberty is U.S. government property, and France evidently cannot reclaim the statue at will; Glucksmann’s statement sounds more like a complaint.
On February 13, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during a ceremony at the White House. In his new role, he will lead several crucial agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overseeing over $30 trillion in healthcare expenditures, supervising federal health insurance programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Kennedy stated that his primary task is to achieve “full transparency” and eliminate individuals with conflicts of interest within the government. He also expressed his desire to downsize many employees from the FDA and NIH.
(This article referenced reporting from POLITICO)