Washington (AFP) – The White House on Tuesday brushed off criticism levied by dozens of US universities and colleges that accused the Trump administration of unprecedented “political interference” in American academia. More than 100 educational institutions issued a joint letter earlier Tuesday condemning President Donald Trump’s undue “intrusion.” The move comes a day after Harvard University sued the Trump administration, which has threatened to cut funding and impose outside political supervision.
“The president has made it quite clear that it’s Harvard who has put themselves in a position to lose their own funding by not obeying federal law, and we expect all colleges and universities who are receiving taxpayer funds to abide by federal law,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters. The educational facilities — including Ivy League institutions Princeton and Brown — said in the letter that they spoke with “one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.”
“We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion,” it said, adding: “We must reject the coercive use of public research funding.” Trump has sought to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus anti-Semitism, threatening their budgets, tax-exempt status, and the enrollment of foreign students. The letter said the schools were committed to serving as centers where “faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation.”
Trump’s war against universities has seen him threaten to cut federal funding over policies meant to encourage diversity among students and staff. The Republican president has also pursued a wide-ranging immigration crackdown that has expanded to foreign students, revoking their visas, often for little or no reason. The White House has publicly justified its campaign against universities as a reaction to unchecked anti-Semitism and the desire to reverse diversity programs aimed at addressing historical oppression of minorities. Leavitt told reporters that Trump was “not going to tolerate illegal harassment and violence towards Jewish American students or students of any faith on our campuses across the country.”
“We will be responding to the lawsuit in court,” she added. The administration claims protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that swept across US college campuses last year were rife with anti-Semitism. Many American universities, including Harvard, cracked down on the protests over the allegations at the time. Several top institutions, including Columbia University, have also bowed to demands from the Trump administration, which claims the educational elite is too left-wing.
In the case of Harvard, the White House is seeking unprecedented levels of government control over admissions and hiring practices at the country’s oldest and wealthiest university. But Harvard rejected the government’s demands, prompting the administration last week to order the freezing of $2.2 billion in federal funding to the institution. In its lawsuit, Harvard calls for the freezing of funds and conditions imposed on federal grants to be declared unlawful, as well as for the Trump administration to pay the institution’s costs. The Department of Homeland Security has also threatened Harvard’s ability to enroll international students unless it turns over records on visa holders’ “illegal and violent activities.” International students made up 27.2 percent of Harvard’s enrollment this academic year, according to its website.
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