White House Leverages Federal Funds to Enforce Political Compliance in Higher Education

In a troubling expansion of federal overreach, the White House is pressuring nine prestigious universities to endorse President Donald Trump’s political agenda as a condition for receiving favorable access to federal grants. This "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" seeks to reshape our nation’s campuses by imposing government mandates on issues ranging from admissions policies and gender definitions to free speech and tuition controls. Is Federal Funding Becoming a Tool for Political Coercion? The compact compels universities to adopt the administration’s rigid vision, including rejecting considerations of race and gender in admissions—undermining decades of efforts toward diversity and inclusiveness—and...