Trump administration uses investigations and funding threats to pressure U.S. universities

President Trump has deployed investigations and pre-emptive threats to federal funding to press American colleges, chipping away at the independence of top universities, The New York Times reported. Officials ordered inquiries into dozens of schools, according to the Times, and the Justice Department targeted at least 75 universities on issues including antisemitism and student aid fraud.

A directive to open probes into more than a dozen institutions prompted the resignation of Hector F. Ruiz and 17 lawyers from a civil rights team, the paper said. Six elite universities settled civil rights investigations, agreeing to some of the administration’s demands and making collective payments totaling hundreds of millions of dollars; Harvard has so far refused to settle and has faced 13 investigations by 10 federal agencies.

The campaign paired investigations with funding pressure, prompting campuses to change policies to avoid government scrutiny. The Times cited examples including the shuttering or rebranding of diversity offices at Emory, Ohio State and Saint Louis University, enrollment pauses in some graduate programs at Chicago, Johns Hopkins and Michigan State, tightened classroom rules at Texas A&M and Texas Tech, and the ouster of the University of Virginia president after board concerns about Justice Department retribution.

Courts have at times rebuked the administration; Judge Allison D.

Key Topics

Politics, Trump Administration, Justice Department, Harvard University, Civil Rights Investigations, Federal Funding