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Last week, Harvard earned its spot as the first major university to reject the Trump Administration’s conditions for maintaining its federal funding. The demands outlined in a letter sent to Harvard by the Administration include discontinuing all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, offices, and positions, implementing a comprehensive mask ban, disciplining students for actions the Administration deems antisemitic, and auditing the student body, faculty, staff, and leadership for ‘viewpoint diversity.’ Reports from inside the Trump Administration suggested that the letter was sent in error, but a White House official confirmed that the Administration “stands by the letter.”
Harvard argued that the demands exceeded the Administration’s rights under the Constitution. Harvard University professors responded by suing the Administration, calling its threat to withhold billions of dollars unless the university compromises the free speech of students and faculty an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment. One professor also spoke out, saying that the federal funding cuts will “cost lives.” Earlier this week, Harvard itself also sued the Administration for its threat to cut funding.
Since Harvard rejected the Trump Administration’s demands, President Trump has threatened to end its tax-exempt status, which is afforded to nearly all colleges and universities.
These threats represent another way in which the Trump Administration is trying to exert unprecedented levels of power over free and independent educational institutions. When President Trump signed an executive order last month to dismantle the Department of Education, he claimed it was to return power back to the states. However, he has also imposed serious unprecedented requirements on states and school districts that will increase administrative burdens and decrease freedom of speech.
For example, the Trump Administration wants school districts and states to confirm that they are not participating in “illegal DEI practices” as a condition for receiving funding. Several states are declining to sign. The Trump Administration has also issued executive orders controlling curriculum content and school policies, saying that schools teaching “discriminatory equity ideology” and schools with COVID vaccine mandates would be at risk of losing their federal funding. These are all examples of the Administration working to exert extreme levels of power over schools, all while arguing that its goal is to return power to states and districts.
Events & Resources for Action
The American Council on Education has a resource page dedicated to higher education and the Trump Administration, with executive orders, agency guidance, and additional resources.
The American Association of University Professors has a resource page on political attacks on higher education, including several lawsuits filed.