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President Donald Trump wasted no time targeting higher education reform in his second term, kicking off a fight that often seemed personal.
Education in recent years has been the battleground for culture war disputes from immigration to transgender rights along with political posturing on issues like student loan forgiveness, admissions practices and free speech on campus.
Republicans have long been skeptical of higher education and accuse academics of indoctrinating youth with progressive ideologies, and Trump claimed that college campuses have been “infested with radicalism like never before.” Trump’s efforts revolve around curbing what he calls a “woke” agenda, with many of his steps aimed at reversing diversity, equity and inclusion policies that he says unfairly benefit some students over others.
As president, Trump has leveraged the power of the federal government to threaten funding and restrict foreign student status, demanding an unprecedented role in university admissions, curriculum and operations. In many cases, he has used accusations of antisemitism or the credo of law and order as wedges to force broader scrutiny of higher education administrators and employed civil rights laws aimed at providing fair access and equal protection to recast the definition of discrimination and roll back safeguards for historically disadvantaged populations.
The battle – which, at times, has escalated into an all-out war – has seen Trump focus on individual universities that refused to bend to his will, perhaps most prominently Harvard University.
Here’s a look at the key areas of Trump’s agenda and some of the noteworthy moves he has made when it comes to higher education:
The administration has filed lawsuits and cut or threatened to limit billions of dollars in funding in an attempt to influence policy at universities nationwide on issues ranging from DEI and LGBTQ+ interests to immigration policy and even university leadership and the academic curriculum. The funding freezes were taken by agencies across the administration, from the National Institutes of Health to the Department of Defense to NASA and others. They have been met with varying levels of resistance by administrators.
- The Trump administration in March sent letters to 60 universities – among them many of the nation’s most elite institutions – warning them of “potential enforcement actions” for violations of Title VI, the federal statute prohibiting discrimination, relating to antisemitic discrimination and harassment. It empowered a Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism to investigate and report violations.
- The White House in March cut $400 million in funding to Columbia University, a focal point of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campuses across the country, after demanding that administrators change policies regarding student protests and discipline and reorganize the leadership of the school’s Middle East studies department. Federal officials warned other universities that they could face similar actions. Columbia University in July said it reached a deal with the Trump administration to resolve several federal probes into the school. The agreement, which does not include Columbia University admitting to any wrongdoing, involves the school paying the government a $200 million settlement over three years. “Under today’s agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025 will be reinstated, and Columbia’s access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored,” the school said in a statement.
- Federal officials in April froze $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard University after warning the school it was in violation of federal civil rights law. Harvard University ultimately rejected the administration’s wide-ranging demands that it reform its hiring and admissions practices, restructure the university’s governance and end DEI programs among a host of other stipulations. That led to an escalating dispute that has seen all additional federal funding withdrawn, new civil rights investigations initiated over hiring practices, threats to end the university’s tax-exempt status and a presidential proclamation banning foreign students from studying at Harvard, among other actions. In a major win for Harvard, a federal judge in early September ruled that the Trump administration broke the law when it terminated the $2.2 billion in grants, calling the administration’s actions part of a “targeted, ideologically-motivated assault.” It barred the White House from ending or freezing any additional funds to the school.
- The Trump administration, embroiled in an ongoing dispute with the state of Maine over its allowance of transgender high school athletes competing in girls sports, suspended millions in funding for the University of Maine’s floating offshore wind program. In a letter to the university in April, a Department of Energy official said the funding was suspended for 90 days because the university failed to comply with the terms and conditions of the grant – which includes Title IX antidiscrimination language the Trump administration recently revised to revoke LGBTQ+ protections. In March, the Agriculture Department suspended funding to the university over Title IX concerns, but it was quickly restored after an investigation determined the school was in compliance.
- Cornell University, Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University were among schools that saw billions of dollars cut, frozen or suspended. The government has given several reasons for the moves, most prominently accusing the schools of tolerating antisemitism but also including race-based policies in admissions and hiring. In some cases, no clear reason was provided.
- The Department of Justice in June filed separate lawsuits against Texas, Kentucky and Minnesota over policies granting in-state college tuition to residents who were in the country illegally. Texas, which had the policy in place for two decades, quickly settled. The moves were foreshadowed in an April executive order on immigration.
- Brown University announced a settlement with Trump in late July that would see the school’s federal research funding resume and an end to the investigations into alleged discrimination. The university agreed to adopt the Trump administration’s definition of “male” and “female” as well as remove race as a consideration in its admissions. “Woke is officially DEAD at Brown,” Trump said in a social media post announcing the deal.
- The Trump administration in October sent nine universities a proposal: priority access to federal funding if they follow a wide-ranging list of demands. The schools would have to take several steps to change their policies, like nixing consideration of race or sex in hiring and admissions and limiting foreign student enrollment. The University of Texas expressed interest in the deal, though most of the other schools would not give an answer at the time. California Gov. Gavin Newsom hit back at the controversial proposal, saying any California schools that sign it would lose “billions” in state funding.
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Republicans have called for the elimination of the agency almost since its inception in 1980, seeing it as a symbol of government bloat, waste and federal overreach. But in recent years the issue has taken on new momentum among hard-line conservatives who bristled at pandemic-era school shutdowns and what was seen as the undermining of parental rights to implement policies that advanced DEI and LGBTQ+ interests.
- Trump on March 20 signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.” In July, the Supreme Court allowed Trump to move ahead with plans to fire about 1,200 Education Department workers. Experts say the reduced workforce could result in delays, particularly in processing FAFSA forms and efficiently distributing aid.
Combining the administration’s goals of restricting immigration as well as curbing protests critical of U.S. policy, universities have reported seeing student visas revoked for things like participation in demonstrations as well as criminal violations, some of them as minor as traffic infractions. Collectively, the moves have led to some students being detained or deported, including in several high-profile arrests nationwide.
- After pledging to “quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses” during his opening days in office, Trump’s State Department in March revoked visas for more than 300 foreign-born students at schools in the U.S. who were said to have taken part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
- Federal officials terminated the status of thousands of students in a database used by universities and government officials to account for their movements in the U.S., a step that jeopardized their ability to remain enrolled and could lead to their visas being revoked. However, in April, it reversed, abruptly restoring thousands of international students’ ability to study across the country. But the Trump administration made clear it was not abandoning its effort. Instead, it began working on a new system to review their records.
- As a part of Trump’s effort to pressure Harvard University to conform with Trump administration policies, the Department of Homeland Security withdrew the university’s certification to host foreign students and issue paperwork for their visas in May. A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s effort in June. Trump switched strategies in June, signing a memo to “safeguard national security by suspending the entry of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programs at Harvard University.” Harvard University, again, sued, and a federal judge, again, put a temporary block on the effort.
Student loan reform was a priority for many Republicans critical of former President Joe Biden’s moves toward student loan debt forgiveness. Biden and his administration erased some $190 billion in borrowed funds – moves that Republicans insisted were in defiance of court orders and were politically motivated to bolster the Democratic base.
- Trump in March signed an executive order to restrict who is eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a program for people who work in public service to get their remaining student loans forgiven after making 10 years of minimum payments. Trump’s plan is to exclude people who work for organizations “that engage in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose.” But the broad language could be used to target a number of activities that might even extend to activism and the constitutionally protected exercise of free speech. However, the change must go through the rulemaking process at the Education Department.
- The Education Department in April announced it would resume collections on student loans that were in default after not pursuing the outstanding payments since March 2020. The Biden administration began collecting student loan repayments in October 2023 after a pause during the pandemic but instituted a one-year grace period in which borrowers faced no consequences. The Trump administration said it would begin withholding tax refunds and garnishing the wages of borrowers who were in default and had not taken the appropriate steps to resume repayment.
- In July, the Education Department announced that roughly 8 million federal student loan borrowers would start to see interest resume on their debt balances in August after the Biden-era grace period exempted them for about a year.
- Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” will bring sweeping changes to federal student loans in July 2026, including setting a total lifetime borrowing limit of $257,500 for all federal student loans.
Federal agencies, including the Education Department, have targeted what the Trump administration is calling “woke” spending, consistent with the views of many conservatives that higher education is biased and its research is used by academics to validate a Democratic agenda.
- The Transportation Department in May terminated seven university grants that totaled $54 million, saying the grants were used to “advance a radical DEI and green agenda that were both wasteful and ran counter to the transportation priorities of the American people.” The department cited as examples a $6 million grant to New York University for research into providing “e-bikes to low-income travelers in transit deserts” and a $6 million grant to the University of New Orleans to study “how neighborhood stabilization efforts support environmental justice.”
- The Department of Commerce in April announced it was cutting $4 million in research funding for Princeton University to study climate change. The administration said the research promoted “exaggerated and implausible climate threats, contributing to a phenomenon known as ‘climate anxiety,’ which has increased significantly among America’s youth. Its focus on alarming climate scenarios fosters fear rather than rational, balanced discussion.” The University of Washington similarly saw a $1 million grant into climate research canceled.
- The National Science Foundation canceled hundreds of grants that “are not aligned with program goals or agency priorities,” including university researchers studying DEI, environmental justice and misinformation or disinformation.
The Trump administration has made efforts to rollback diversity, equity and inclusion programs embraced by the Biden administration. On his second day in office, he signed an executive order to terminate “to the maximum extent allowed by law” DEI offices and positions.
- The DEI executive order also mandated an end to such programs at universities that receive federal funding. Schools that don’t comply risk losing federal money. The move, according to the Trump administration, is meant to correct recent discrimination “against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families.”
- A February memo from the Education Department instructed schools to stop using “racial preferences” as a factor in admissions, financial aid and hiring. It stated that personal essays for college admissions cannot be used to predict a student’s race. “Institutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding,” it said. But a federal judge in August blocked the memo, along with another one from April that requested state education agencies certify they were not using “illegal DEI practices,” saying the policy changes did not follow procedural requirements.
- The Trump administration has launched investigations into dozens of institutions for their DEI practices. In one high-profile case, the University of Virginia president announced in June he would resign rather than “fight the federal government.” In another case, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights accused George Mason University of violating Title VI by using race and other protected characteristics in its hiring and promotion practices. The department demanded that Gregory Washington, the university’s president, apologize. In a letter, Washington’s attorney said the university president would not apologize.
- Trump on Aug. 7 signed a presidential memorandum aimed at “ensuring transparency in higher education admissions.” The memo requires colleges and universities to submit additional admissions data to the Education Department in an effort to “ensure race-based preferences are not used in university admissions processes.” McMahon said in a statement that the Trump administration “will not allow institutions to blight the dreams of students by presuming that their skin color matters more than their hard work and accomplishments.”
- The Education Department in September announced plans to end discretionary grant funding for several minority-serving institutions programs. It said the projects “discriminate by conferring government benefits exclusively to institutions that meet racial or ethnic quotas.” The agency said it would cut about $350 million from seven programs, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions and predominantly Black institutions. “These funds will be reprogrammed into programs that do not include discriminatory racial and ethnic quotas and that advance Administration priorities,” it said. A few days later, the agency announced a $495 million investment in historically Black colleges and tribal universities with funds it redirected from other programs “that the Department determined are not in the best interest of students and families.”
Republicans have long expressed concern with foreign funding flowing into U.S. colleges and universities. They say the money raises questions about foreign influences over research as well as national security issues relating to potential espionage and theft of sensitive information.
- Trump in April signed an executive order to require the “full and timely disclosure of foreign funding by higher education institutions.” The order asks for stricter enforcement of a federal law that requires colleges to disclose financial ties with foreign sources. “We believe that certain universities, including, for example, Harvard, have routinely violated this law, and this law has not been effectively enforced,” White House staff secretary Will Scharf said at the executive order’s signing ceremony.
- The Trump administration opened investigations into Harvard University; the University of Pennsylvania; the University of California, Berkeley; and, most recently, the University of Michigan over foreign funds.
Accreditation is a process colleges and universities are required to go through to gain access to federal financial aid. Using the accreditation process to target institutions that the Trump administration deems “low-quality” could lead to major financial fallouts for the institutions that rely heavily on federal financial aid and could give conservatives a greater say over higher education standards.
- Trump in April signed an executive order to “overhaul the higher education accreditation system, ensuring colleges and universities deliver high-quality, high-value education free from unlawful discrimination and ideological overreach.” The Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions, a group of some of the largest federally recognized college accreditors, pushed back on Trump’s claims, adding that “ultimately, concerns about accreditor recognition can be escalated to federal court.”
- A May letter from the Education Department detailed guidance to quicken the process of switching accreditors in an effort to “remove unnecessary requirements and barriers to institutional innovation.” McMahon said the new policy as well as the executive order will “ensure this Department no longer stands as a gatekeeper to block aspiring innovators from becoming new accreditors nor will this Department unnecessarily micromanage an institution’s choice of accreditor.”
- The Education Department took steps to notify accreditors of violations its Office for Civil Rights found at certain institutions, including Harvard University and Columbia University. It accused both schools of violating federal antidiscrimination laws, saying, in turn, that the schools no longer appear to meet their accreditor’s standards. The agency noted in its press releases that “if a university fails to come into compliance within a specified period, an accreditor must take appropriate action against its member institution.”
Trump has put a strong focus on banning transgender people from participating in sports, including at colleges and universities. He signed an executive order that declared the federal government recognizes two sexes: male and female. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” Trump’s executive order states. “Under my direction, the Executive Branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality, and the following definitions shall govern all Executive interpretation of and application of Federal law and administration policy.”
- As part of the executive order declaring that the federal government recognizes two sexes, the Trump administration rescinded Title IX protections prohibiting discrimination that were extended to the LGBTQ+ community during the previous administration.
- Trump in February signed an executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” to “rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.”
- The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights launched investigations into several universities, including the University of Pennsylvania over a transgender woman’s participation on the women’s swim team three years ago. The Ivy league school announced in July that it reached a deal with the Trump administration to limit transgender people’s participation in its athletic programs. McMahon called the agreement a “great victory for women and girls not only at the University of Pennsylvania, but all across our nation.”
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Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder
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