Washington — Hundreds of U.S. universities and colleges, including Harvard, Princeton, Penn, Brown, MIT, Cornell and Tufts issued a joint letter Tuesday condemning President Trump’s “political interference” in the nation’s education system.
The move comes a day after Harvard University sued the Trump administration, which announced an initial funding freeze of $2.2 billion and later signaled its intention to suspend an additional $1 billion in grants. The moves came after weeks of escalation between the administration and Harvard, which had rejected the administration’s demands to change many of the school’s policies and leadership, including auditing the student body and faculty for “viewpoint diversity.”
“We speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education,” Tuesday’s letter read.
“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.”
Mr. Trump has sought to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus antisemitism, threatening their budgets and tax-exempt status and the enrollment of foreign students.
The letter said the universities and colleges 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.”
“Most fundamentally,” the letter reads, “America’s colleges and universities prepare an educated citizenry to sustain our democracy.
“The price of abridging the defining freedoms of American higher education will be paid by our students and our society. On behalf of our current and future students, and all who work at and benefit from our institutions, we call for constructive engagement that improves our institutions and serves our republic.”
Mr. Trump’s confrontations with universities has seen him threaten to cut federal funding at schools beyond Harvard over their policies meant to encourage diversity among students and staff.
The president has also pursued a wide-ranging immigration crackdown that has expanded to foreign students.
The White House has publicly justified its campaign as a reaction to uncontrolled “antisemitism” and the desire to reverse diversity programs aimed at addressing historical oppression of minorities.
The administration claims protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that swept across U.S. college campuses last year were rife with antisemitism.
Many U.S. schools, 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 progressive.
