President Donald Trump has had a busy second term in office so far, with a wave of executive orders targeting government spending, tariffs and more. This week, he took aim at higher education in the U.S.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump 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,” said a fact sheet from the White House.
It said the order calls for Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to hold higher education “accreditors” accountable. Methods for holding these “accreditors” accountable include “denial, monitoring, suspension, or termination of accreditation recognition, for accreditors’ poor performance or violations of federal civil rights law,” said the fact sheet. Furthermore, it calls on Attorney General Pam Bondi and McMahon to “terminate unlawful discrimination by American higher education institutions.”
Accreditors are described in the fact sheet as “the gatekeepers that decide which colleges and universities can access over $100 billion in annual Federal student loans and Pell Grants.”
Previously, Trump criticized “wokeness” in military service academies.
“Our Service Academies have been infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues over the last four years,” he said in a February Truth Social post. “I have ordered the immediate dismissal of the Board of Visitors for the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard.”
Per the fact sheet, his latest move regarding U.S. education will also target “accreditors” who impose diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) standards. Other issues mentioned in the document included the graduation rate and return-on-investment related to college degrees
Overall, Trump issued six executive orders related to education Wednesday. Here are the titles:
Transparency regarding foreign influence at American universities
Reinstating common sense school discipline policies
Preparing Americans for high-paying skilled trade jobs of the future
Reforming accreditation to strengthen higher education
Restoring equality of opportunity and meritocracy
As Trump rolled out these orders, the oldest university in the U.S., Harvard, took a stand against the president.
“Over the course of the past week, the federal government has taken several actions following Harvard’s refusal to comply with its illegal demands,” began a letter from Alan M. Garber, president of the university. He announced that the school had filed a lawsuit to halt a funding freeze initiated by the administration.
According to MSNBC, Harvard’s case against the government is strong. It also said that, if successful, the suit might encourage other institutions to do the same.