“Will Universities Surrender or Resist?” Scholar Slams Trump’s Threat to Defund Universities (Democracy Now!)

The Trump administration has issued a two-week ultimatum for schools and universities across the United States to end all programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion — DEI — or risk losing federal funding. The Department of Education has already canceled some $600 million in grants for teacher training on race, social justice and other topics as part of its crusade against “woke” policies. This comes as President Donald Trump has said he wants to abolish the agency and tapped major Trump donor and former professional wrestling executive Linda McMahon to carry out that goal; she is expected to be confirmed by the Senate with little or no Republican opposition. Education scholar Julian Vasquez Heilig, who teaches at Western Michigan University, says Trump’s moves are part of “an attempt to privatize education” in the United States, with DEI used as a wedge to accomplish a larger restructuring of social structures. “Higher education hasn’t faced a crisis like this since potentially McCarthyism.”