Suppressing independent thought

The Trump administration’s months-long campaign to assert control over higher education paid off this month as multiple institutions capitulated under mounting pressure. The strategy adheres to a now-familiar playbook: first, freeze federal funding over vague allegations of tolerating antisemitism, advancing transgender rights, or prioritizing diversity initiatives, then leverage the financial stranglehold to dictate policy changes—exploiting the compliance of university leadership who mistakenly believe appeasement will stave off authoritarian overreach.

The endgame, as described by Trump advisor and tech billionaire Marc Andreesen, is clear: universities engineered to be whiter, more conservative, and increasingly reserved for America’s wealthiest elite.

“The universities are at Ground Zero of the counterattack” from Trump voters, Andreessen wrote, alleging colleges favored immigrants over Americans and promoted DEI, or diversity, equity, and inclusion policies intended to increase race and gender representation…“They declared war on 70% of the country and now they’re going to pay the price,” Andreessen alleged of universities, without calling out a specific school.

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania agreed to adopt the Trump administration’s transphobic policies—including (a) banning transgender women from competing in women’s athletic programs, (b) stripping trans athlete Lia Thomas of her records, titles, and recognitions, and © adopting Trump’s definition that there are only two immutable genders, male and female—in exchange for the release of $175 million in previously frozen federal funding. Trump had suspended the funding in March under the pretense that the university was violating his executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” despite UPenn having no transgender athletes in competition and full compliance with NCAA policies.

Columbia University

Columbia University reached a settlement to pay the federal government over $200 million in fines over accusations of failing to curb antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests last year. Critically, Columbia also agreed to cede control over its admissions process, terminating the use of “race, color, or national origin” in admissions and pledging to provide admissions data on race to the federal government. In exchange, Columbia expects to regain $400 million in previously frozen funds.

Harvard

Harvard is fighting in court to overturn the administration’s suspension of over $2 billion in grants and contracts, imposed under allegations of permitting antisemitism on campus. However, behind the courtroom battle, Harvard has already yielded to numerous Trump demands, including canceling Palestinian academic content, firing faculty leaders of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and closing offices for minority students, LGBTQ students, and women. Meanwhile, the school’s leadership is reportedly exploring creating a “center for conservative scholarship” in a bid to placate the Trump administration’s accusations of liberal bias.

In case it isn’t obvious, yet: no amount of concessions will stave off an authoritarian regime. According to the Harvard Crimson, “Trump is personally pressing officials involved in the negotiations to ensure Harvard pays more than Columbia’s $220 million deal…adding that Trump believes exceeding that sum would set an example.” The most recent reporting indicates that the university “has signaled an openness” to “spend as much as $500 million to end its dispute with the White House.”

George Mason

The Trump administration has launched investigations into George Mason University, targeting its admissions policies, hiring practices, and alleged failure to combat antisemitism on campus. The probes and subsequent rightwing media campaign follow the same script that led to the resignation of University of Virginia President James E. Ryan last month.

George Mason’s president, Gregory Washington—the university’s first Black president and a first-generation college graduate—called it an “orchestrated” attempt to oust him, in remarks to ProPublica. When faculty united to publish a resolution supporting Washington and the university’s diversity efforts, the Trump administration announced it is investigating the faculty members, as well.

Johns Hopkins

A striking example of the Trump administration’s broader agenda to control university curricula, hiring, and admissions is a recent Title VI complaint filed against the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine by America First Legal, a group founded by former Trump advisor Stephen Miller. The complaint challenges the school’s tuition-free program for students from families earning less than $300,000, claiming that the policy unconstitutionally favors minority applicants because “race and ethnicity are inseparable from socioeconomic status.” In other words, they argue that financial assistance to lower-income students is inherently “race-conscious” and thus violates the Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on affirmative action.

Further reading:

“The [University of North Carolina] System is leaving its current accrediting body to join with Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia to form a new group. It’s the brain-child of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican and possible 2028 presidential candidate, who has said they’ll fight against perceived “woke” standards used by other accreditors,” WRAL

Corporate media bows down

Trump’s attacks on the independence of universities are mirrored by his assault on the independence of the media, using tactics straight out of Viktor Orban’s authoritarian Hungary: consolidate media control through centralized propaganda, market pressure, legal maneuvers, and loyal billionaires.

Press watchdog Reporters Without Borders has documented how Orbán built “a true media empire subject to his party’s orders,” orchestrating media buyouts through government-aligned oligarchs. Today, Orbán’s party controls an estimated 80% of Hungary’s media market. The result is a near-total collapse of independent journalism. “Everything has fallen apart in Hungary. The state essentially does not function, there’s only propaganda and lies,” said Péter Magyar, leader of a rising opposition party that has become one of the most serious threats to Orbán’s grip on power.

Paramount

On July 1, CBS News announced that it had agreed to pay Donald Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit the president filed over an edited Kamala Harris interview last year. According to the suit, CBS edited one of Harris’s answers to be more concise in an effort to “confuse, deceive, and mislead the public” and harm Trump’s electoral chances. This, of course, ignored the […

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From campuses to newsrooms: Trump’s coordinated campaign to crush independent institutions