President Trump waged a sustained campaign last year against America’s top universities, ostensibly over how they handled incidents of antisemitism during campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza. In response, some universities acknowledged shortcomings on antisemitism and promised steps to foster ideological diversity. Others have balked at Mr. Trump’s demands as a violation of their autonomy. Harvard, one of his biggest targets, has fought back in court.
Mr. Trump’s efforts began last January with an executive order on combating antisemitism that singled out colleges and universities. Later, he moved to freeze federal research grants to several universities accused of violating antidiscrimination laws, sending a message to higher education as a whole. Conservatives argue that many colleges have become bastions of left-wing indoctrination and are failing to properly educate the next generation.
The administration has demanded a dismantling of diversity programs on campuses and stricter enforcement of merit-based admissions. By freezing billions of dollars in grants to Harvard, Columbia, Brown, and other research universities, Mr. Trump found an effective way to pressure private universities into changing how they operate.
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Another pressure point is foreign students. The Trump administration threatened to stop issuing student visas for Harvard, which enrolls large numbers of students from abroad. New international student enrollment has fallen by 17% in the current academic year, amid uncertainty over visa issuance, according to the Institute of International Education.
In July, Columbia paid more than $200 million to settle an antidiscrimination investigation and restart research funding. Brown, Cornell, Northwestern, and the University of Pennsylvania have also signed agreements accepting varying conditions; all have insisted that academic freedom hasn’t been compromised.
Harvard has pushed back on Mr. Trump’s demands. It successfully argued in federal court that the administration’s cuts to its research funding were unconstitutional. That case is now under appeal, while Harvard faces investigations on other fronts and demands to turn over more admissions data.
Colleges also face higher taxes on endowments because of Mr. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill from July. What had been a flat 1.4% excise tax on private colleges and universities over a certain size will become a tiered system with a top tax rate of 8%. That is aimed squarely at elite universities.
Read our other stories on President Trump’s second term after one year:
• In one year, Trump has shaken up everything. With what effect?
• On the economy, no recession, but no boom either
• Shattering foreign policy norms
Read more on higher education, DEI, and antisemitism:
• Trump is attacking DEI in government and beyond. What will be the impact?
• Antisemitism reaches 45-year high in US. It’s ‘the canary in the coal mine.’
• How intertwined are the federal government and US colleges?
• The US used to be a haven for research. Now, scientists are packing their bags.
• Universities are paying the US millions of dollars in settlements. Where will the money go?