Months after being elected into office for his second term as president, protests have erupted and letters have been signed against Trump for what has been viewed as attacks on education.
Riverside Community College District Chancellor Wolde-Ab Isaac recently signed a letter condemning Trump and his administration saying “unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.” The letter was signed by over 200 United States colleges.
Trump and his administration has been highly critical of many colleges and universities across the United States.
A primary target of Trump’s criticism of higher level education has been California colleges and universities, with the Department of Justice launching investigations into Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Irvine. The investigations were launched against the California institutions for allegedly discriminating against students by prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Affirmative action in California has been illegal since 1996.
California’s institutions are not the only ones feeling threatened by the Trump administration’s actions toward education.
Harvard and the Trump administration have been clashing since Feb. Leo Terrell, lawyer and former talk show host who is the current assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Department of Justice retweeted an X post calling him “Harvard’s worst nightmare.”
Terrel also said on Fox News, “We’re going to bankrupt these universities. We’re going to take away every single federal dollar. If these universities do not play ball, lawyer up, because the federal government is coming after you.”
The New York Times reported Trump spoke in favor of cutting all federal ties to Harvard.
The Department of Education also let go of half of its staff under Trump’s order to gut federal education programs.
California and 19 other states retaliated against the order by launching a lawsuit against the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, the US Department of Education, and Trump himself.
The lawsuit reads, “This massive reduction in force (RIF) is equivalent to incapacitating key, statutorily-mandated functions of the Department, causing immense damage to Plaintiff States and their educational systems.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta says the cuts to the department could result in billions lost.
“When the president breaks the law, we sue. It’s that simple,” Bonta said. “And he’s broken the law again, unfortunately, this time harming children in the process.”
The clash between Trump, his administration and colleges across the United States is ongoing.
