"By the end of November, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, and Northwestern had all made deals with the administration to stop the onslaught. Harvard was rumored to be close to reaching a deal as well. But the aggressive pace that won the administration so many early victories eventually proved to be its great weakness."
"The government could move so quickly only by skipping almost all of the procedural steps required by federal law. Once universities and their allies recovered from their shock and challenged the Trump administration, they were able to block many, if not most, of the White House's moves in court."
"In February 2025, Trump's Education Department ordered colleges to end DEI trainings, stop awarding scholarships reserved for nonwhite students, and shut down any other programs, including affinity-group housing, that distinguished students by race or ethnicity."
Following Trump's second term inauguration, the White House and Department of Education initiated aggressive actions against universities, targeting perceived adversaries through frequent investigations and funding threats. Major institutions including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, and Northwestern quickly negotiated settlements to halt the assault. However, the administration's speed came at the cost of legal compliance. By bypassing required federal procedures, the government created vulnerabilities that universities and allies exploited through court challenges. These legal interventions successfully blocked numerous White House initiatives. The administration's early offensive included ordering colleges to eliminate DEI programs, end race-based scholarships, and shut down race-conscious initiatives. Federal agencies simultaneously announced plans to reduce indirect research costs. Despite significant efforts, the administration's impact on universities remained limited due to legal constraints.
Read at The Atlantic
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