Trump’s attacks on universities are “dangerous and politically motivated,” said New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler.
The White House announced Thursday that the Trump administration plans to withhold $510 million in federal funding from Brown University while it investigates the school’s response to alleged “antisemitism”— a term that is being weaponized to target protesters against Israel’s genocide in Gaza — as well as the university’s refusal to dismantle its diversity programs, which defy President Donald Trump’s broader effort to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
“I strongly condemn former President Trump’s latest attacks on higher education cloaked under the guise of fighting antisemitism,” New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler said in a statement. “Once again, the President is weaponizing the real pain American Jews face to advance his desire to wield control over the truth-seeking academic institutions that stand as a bulwark against authoritarianism.”
Brown is the latest in a growing list of universities under federal scrutiny. Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania have already seen hundreds of millions in federal funding suspended over their campus policies.
In hopes of regaining funding, Columbia University agreed to sweeping changes, including banning masks at protests, increasing police presence on campus, and submitting certain academic departments to federal oversight. The university also revised its disciplinary procedures and appointed “special officers” authorized to detain or remove individuals from campus. A new oversight position — a senior vice provost — was created to evaluate area studies programs, beginning with those focused on the Middle East, and to advise leadership on potential academic restructuring. Despite these concessions, the Trump administration has not yet restored federal funding to the university, stating that the changes are “only the first step.”
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) criticized these changes as “tantamount to receivership,” warning that the administration’s demands undermine departmental autonomy and academic freedom. “The Trump administration seeks to make Columbia University an example of its power over any college or university that resists its extreme political interference in institutional governance,” the AAUP stated.
In an article for The Atlantic, the president of Princeton University, Christopher L. Eisgruber, wrote, “The Trump administration’s recent attack on Columbia University … [presents] the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s. Every American should be concerned.” The Trump administration has halted several of Princeton’s research grants — totalling $210 million — as part of its wider campaign against perceived ideological noncompliance.
Harvard University is also under threat. Similarly to Columbia, the Trump administration is demanding that Harvard implement a sweeping set of changes — including the dismantling of DEI programs, bans on mask-wearing at protests, “race-neutral” admissions and hiring, expanded collaboration with law enforcement, and federal oversight of departments accused of promoting “antisemitism.” If Harvard fails to comply, it risks losing up to $9 billion in federal funding.
The targeting of Ivy League schools is part of a broader, nationwide assault on higher education by the Trump administration. The Trump administration has cautioned around 60 universities that they could face the loss of federal funding if they fail to respond to reports of “antisemitism” on campus and opened investigations into 45 colleges accused of engaging in so-called “race-based exclusion”— a clear attempt to dismantle DEI programs.
Academics have condemned universities for their crackdowns on pro-Palestine student protesters, noting that this repression paved the way for the Trump administration’s current attacks on academic freedom.
“By their willingness to scapegoat and vilify the pro-Palestine student movement, these institutions have invited their enemies in, becoming testing grounds for the authoritarianism that threatens our nation,” CUNY professors Heba Gowayed and Jessica Halliday Hardie wrote for Truthout.
“We must all insist, vocally and without fear, that colleges and universities recommit themselves to the principles of academic freedom and free expression before it is truly too late,” they added.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
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