Washington — A year ago, the White House launched a blitz on higher education. On one campus after another, Trump officials opened investigations Cutting federal funding Unless the schools align with the Republican president’s political agenda.
Now, after the campaign that has developed dozens of universities Under investigationPresident Donald Trump’s administration is taking a broader approach, moving to rewrite the federal rules governing all of higher education. The demands once pressed on individual schools are now written in the fine print of thousands of American universities.
“We are taking on the higher education system and correcting course,” Nicholas Kent, undersecretary for education, said in an interview with The Associated Press. Unlike investigations targeting individual universities, he said the new tactic has the potential to “impact 6,000 institutions.”
The transformation comes after Federal judges The Trump administration banned it from being made Paralyzing cuts At Harvard University and the University of California, Los Angeles. It also comes on the heels of an exodus of civil rights lawyers who traditionally direct investigations against universities. However, Trump has not backed down on his campaign to end what he calls “wokeism” plaguing academia.
Through regulation, management seeks to achieve many of the same goals it set through investigations – Diversity, equity and inclusion policies, Transgender athletes, Anti-Semitism and a variety of practices that are seen as discriminating against whites.
One new rule proposed by the Education Department would reform the system that decides which colleges can receive federal money, known as the accreditation process. Among other changes, the proposal would require accreditors to ensure that colleges have “intellectual diversity,” a thinly veiled call for more conservative voices.
Many people in higher education are concerned about a proposal from the Office of Management and Budget that would order agencies to ensure that federal grants “advance the president’s policy priorities.” Trump officials will verify that the grants are not being used to promote DEI, “anti-American values” or anything that denies “the human gender binary,” according to the proposal released last week. A spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget said the rule is intended to enhance transparency.
Another proposal from the General Services Administration would require recipients of federal grants, including universities and their contractors, to certify that they do not have DEI policies deemed illegal by the administration.
At least 11 new rules have been proposed at the Department of Education, including one aimed at “simplifying the process” to cut funds for schools that violate the Trump administration’s interpretation of the civil rights law.
Federal rulemaking can take months of debate in monotonous bureaucratic processes. But unlike previous strategies that… He tested the limits of the White House’s powerThe rulemaking process is a widely accepted path to turning federal policy into law — without having to go through Congress.
Some in higher education welcome the change. Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, which represents college and university presidents, said that unlike last year’s attacks, the new approach opens the door to conversation.
“We’re playing a game that has rules and referees, and that’s a good thing,” said Mitchell, a former Education Department official under Democratic President Barack Obama. “It gives us an opportunity to talk about areas where we might agree with the administration. It would have been impossible to do that when these were just direct attacks.”
Meanwhile, the Departments of Education and Justice have announced fewer investigations into higher education, and have issued press releases about nearly a dozen U.S. universities so far this year. At the same time last year, they announced more than 70, according to an AP analysis. The exact number of new investigations is unclear, as the public database has not been updated since January 2025.
Kent said the Department of Education would continue to open investigations as needed, describing it as using a “scalpel to cut out the bad.” But he said that colleges have begun to respond to the administration’s priorities.
“People realize it’s a new day and we’re paying attention,” Kent said.
The vast majority of investigations opened last year are still open. The white house concluded deals with Colombia, brown And a bunch of Other campusesbut most cases are unresolved with no public update for months.
Katherine Lamon, who led the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights under Democratic President Joe Biden, said the barrage of investigations amounted to “performance art” that attracted attention but had little impact. She said that after backing away from schools, the Trump administration is backing down.
“She stopped putting herself in a position to lose,” said Lamon, who now leads the Edley Center for Law and Democracy at the University of California, Berkeley.
However, some battles became more intense. The White House has doubled its battles with Harvard University and the University of California, after federal judges blocked the administration from cutting research funding to the two campuses.
The Justice Department has sued Harvard and UCLA four times since February, alleging that both campuses tolerate anti-Semitism and that Harvard refused to release admissions data requested by the administration. Leaders of both universities say they worked to combat anti-Semitism.
A White House official said the slowdown in the investigation is also the result of an increased focus on college admissions. The administration has built cases against colleges accused of taking race into account in admissions decisions even after the Supreme Court overturns Affirmative action. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy, said these investigations could take more time because they require large data sets.
Some of these cases are now starting to bear fruit.
The Department of Justice recently concluded this Medical colleges At Yale and UCLA, it discriminated against white and Asian American students by favoring black and Latino applicants. Universities have defended their admissions processes, saying they are rigorous and merit-based.
Trump officials are taking a hard line against any use of race in admissions, clashing with colleges that invite students to discuss their race in application essays. In its 2023 decision, the Supreme Court said there is nothing preventing schools from considering how applicants’ race relates to broader characteristics.
“We make sure we lift up our best and brightest and that we don’t put our thumb on the scale because of the color of someone’s skin,” Kent said.
In the face of last year’s blitz, many universities quietly made changes to avoid scrutiny. some Closed DEI offices. The NCAA has moved to limit transgender athletes. Universities from UCLA to Columbia have tightened campus protest rules after pro-Palestinian demonstrations were the subject of federal investigations.
Research has been cut back as graduate schools face continuing funding cuts.
Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors, said there has been a chilling effect in classrooms, where professors fear that what they say or teach could attract federal attention.
However, he is optimistic that the balance of power is shifting in favor of universities. Students and faculty at many universities lobbied to refuse An invitation to the White House Last fall, he said, he signed off on aspects of Trump’s agenda in exchange for research funding. American University has filed several lawsuits against the administration, including one that halted funding cuts at UCLA.
“The sector is consolidating, and it’s getting stronger,” Wolfson said. “I can promise you that we will fight them with all our might.”
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