On October 12, President Donald J. Trump articulated his plan for university reform in a post on Truth Social. The post unveiled a renewed push for higher education reform. The Trump Administration’s previous efforts to transform universities have faced significant legal pushback, culminating in a district court victory for Harvard and affiliated labor unions. The judge ruled that the administration’s actions violated both the First Amendment and Administrative Procedures Act.
Earlier this summer, the Manhattan Institute posted a request for President Trump to issue an executive order to change higher education, rather than get new legislation from Congress. The Manhattan Institute Statement asked the President to draft a new compact between the American public and its universities, proposing that compliance with the compact be a new condition of every federal grant or contract. The statement was signed by 43 prominent conservatives.
In September, the Trump Administration wrote to nine universities proposing to give them favored status in earning government grants if they would agree to such a compact that addressed conservative concerns. The agreement, titled “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” asks compliant universities to not consider “sex, ethnicity, race, nationality, political views, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious associations, or proxies for any of those factors shall be considered, explicitly or implicitly, in any decision related to undergraduate or graduate student admissions or financial support,” among other things. According to the letter sent to university leaders, schools that sign on will receive “multiple positive benefits,” including “substantial and meaningful federal grants.” MIT has already publicly rejected the offer, and the University of Texas is thus far the only one of the nine to respond positively to the compact. California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned public universities in his state that signing the compact would put them in direct conflict with his administration.
In this context, President Trump’s Truth Social post has now made his plan public and expanded the compact beyond the initial nine universities:
“Throughout most of our History, America’s Colleges and Universities have been a Great Strategic Asset of the United States. Tragically, however, much of Higher Education has lost its way, and is now corrupting our Youth and Society with WOKE, SOCIALIST, and ANTI-AMERICAN Ideology that serves as justification for discriminatory practices by Universities that are Unconstitutional and Unlawful. My Administration is fixing this, and FAST, with our Great Reform Agenda in Higher Education. Our Nation’s Great Institutions will once again prioritize Merit and Hard Work before “group identity,” resulting in tremendous new Research and Opportunity to benefit all Americans, and Equality being honored in American Businesses, Courts, and Culture.
“To those Universities that continue to illegally discriminate based on Race or Sex, we will continue our current efforts to swiftly and forcefully enforce Federal Law. But for those Institutions that want to quickly return to the pursuit of Truth and Achievement, they are invited to enter into a forward looking Agreement with the Federal Government to help bring about the Golden Age of Academic Excellence in Higher Education. They will agree to follow Federal Law, and protect the Civil Rights of ALL Students, Faculty, and Employees on Campuses. They will stop racist Admission Policies, and put an end to unjust and illegal discrimination in Faculty Hiring. These Institutions will commit to High Quality Standards, an Intellectually Open Campus Environment (including the protection of Free Speech and Debate), Institutional Neutrality, major steps toward Affordability for Students, and an end to the entanglement of Foreign Money in the Finances of American Universities. Americans deserve to be treated in accordance with their demonstrated achievements and potential, and upon regaining this fundamentally American Value, our Nation will be unstoppable. We will once again have Universities that develop the talents of our amazing young people to lead lives of Success and Fulfillment, cultivate a Love of Country and a Culture of Achievement, and help make all Americans proud, safe, prosperous, and free!”
However, there are some early indications that Trump’s plans have little legal standing. The First Amendment protects all viewpoints, including “WOKE, SOCIALIST, and ANTI-AMERICAN Ideology [sic].” Such ideology only becomes illegal when there are unconstitutional and unlawful discriminatory practices. For about 25 years, the Supreme Court allowed some affirmative action in the context of higher education admissions, but the Court reversed that holding in Students For Fair Admissions v. Harvard. Given that change, it is possible that the First Amendment will still protect remaining “woke” college practices, even if the Trump Administration seeks to prohibit them as illegal discrimination. The Trump Administration can create a new compact as a positive incentive to drop “woke” practices, but the Trump Administration may not be able to back up its threat to punish colleges who choose to ignore the compact.
For now, it remains to be seen if the Truth Social post will help mobilize public opinion, or whether years of First Amendment litigation by individual universities will follow.
