Because they suddenly realized they’re about to be made an example of per DJT’s ‘pull funding?’ tweet.
They’re realizing they crossed the line where their allowance goes away.
They SHOULD be the first example, after all, they ‘invented’ the First Amendment in ‘64.
That should have read: they were testing the line at which their allowance gets yanked. DJT artfully played the dad who asks mom across the breakfast table ‘no more allowance?’ when a child tests a boundary.