What's behind Trump's crackdown on universities — and why it matters

Summary

Summary of "What's behind Trump's crackdown on universities — and why it matters"
Consider This from NPR
Release Date: May 30, 2025

In this episode of NPR's Consider This, host Ari Shapiro delves into the Trump administration's extensive measures targeting colleges and universities. Through insightful discussions with NPR correspondents Danielle Kurtzleben and Alyssa Nadworny, the episode unpacks the motivations, implications, and future consequences of these policies.

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1. Introduction: The Trump Administration's Assault on Higher Education

The episode opens with Ari Shapiro outlining the multifaceted attacks the Trump administration has launched against academic institutions. From significant cuts in research funding to the detention of international students, the administration's actions have created a pervasive climate of uncertainty and fear within the higher education sector.

• Research Funding Cuts:
  "They've already cut more than $10 billion in research grants that could affect the future of everything from medicine to personal tech."
  — Sabrina Howell, NYU Business School Professor [00:00]

• Impact on Innovation:
  "We would not have iPhones if universities [weren't funded]."
  — Danielle Kurtzleben [00:18]

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2. Severe Restrictions and Student Detentions

A significant facet of the administration's crackdown involves the persecution of international students. Federal agents have detained student activists and revoked visas, fostering an environment of fear even among those not directly targeted.

• Living in Fear:
  "Every time I leave my house, I'm emotionally and mentally preparing myself for detention."
  — A graduate student at Columbia (identity withheld) [00:47]

• Psychological Impact:
  "Some sort of panic within me."
  — Same Graduate Student [00:59]

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3. Government Oversight and Loss of Academic Freedom

The administration has imposed stringent oversight on certain university departments, jeopardizing academic autonomy.

• Loss of Independence:
  "Without the independence to be able to create and produce a wide-ranging academic program, we lose academic freedom."
  — Ted Mitchell, President of the American Council on Education [01:01]

• Targeting Foreign Students:
  "We have people want to go to Harvard and other schools. They can't get in because we have foreign students there. But I want to make sure that the foreign students are people that can love our country."
  — Donald Trump [01:30]

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4. Universities Push Back Against Federal Policies

Elite institutions like Harvard are actively resisting the administration's policies, emphasizing the illogical nature of the government's actions and advocating for the continuation of essential research.

• Harvard's Response:
  "It's hard to see the logic in the government's actions."
  — Alan Garber, Harvard University President [01:40]

• Defense of Research Funding:
  "The research funding is not a gift. The research funding is given to universities and other research institutions to carry out work that the federal government designates as high priority work."
  — Danielle Kurtzleben [01:50]

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5. Underlying Motives Behind the Crackdown

Alyssa Nadworny provides a comprehensive analysis of the administration's possible motivations, suggesting a blend of ideological battles and populist strategies.

• Identity Politics and MAGA Appeal:
  "If I am a voter who loves Donald Trump, this is about not only whether I did or didn't go to college...do I want to punish people who are on the opposite side of me on those issues?"
  — Alyssa Nadworny [08:54]

• Authoritarian Tendencies:
  "The goal is to limit free thinking, to limit opposition to authority, and to limit the information environment."
  — Alyssa Nadworny [06:44]

• Populist Resentment:
  "Legacy admissions and the cost of these elite schools, plus rhetoric around affirmative action. A lot of people just perceive these schools as unfair."
  — Alyssa Nadworny [06:44]

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6. Legal Battles and Negotiations Behind the Scenes

Universities are actively engaging with government officials to navigate the restrictive policies, although federal funding freezes are hindering progress.

• Ongoing Negotiations:
  "Harvard, for example, has acknowledged that they can and will do more to combat anti-Semitism. A lot of college leaders have told me that even in the last few weeks, they've made multiple trips to D.C. to meet with officials from the Education Department and in Congress."
  — Danielle Kurtzleben [08:19]

• Undermining Talks:
  "They say the grant freezings are undermining those talks and the process that is supposed to unfold."
  — Danielle Kurtzleben [08:19]

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7. The Binary Framing of Higher Education Funding

The administration's portrayal of elite universities versus vocational and community colleges raises questions about the allocation and impact of federal funding.

• Misconception of Funding Redistribution:
  "These two things actually aren't at odds with each other. In the sense that money for cancer research is allocated by Congress. It's not money that would have otherwise been spent on community college."
  — Danielle Kurtzleben [10:04]

• Reality of Higher Education Demographics:
  "Very few people actually go to these elite universities. Less than 1% of all U.S. college students. Most Americans are at community colleges and regional four-year public universities which educate students on the trades."
  — Danielle Kurtzleben [10:04]

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8. Long-Term Implications for Education and Politics

The episode concludes by exploring the potential long-term effects of the administration's policies on students, research, and the political landscape.

• Impact on Research and Economy:
  "Think of the research that has been paused in terms of advances in health and technology. International students alone contribute about $43 billion to the U.S. economy every year."
  — Danielle Kurtzleben [10:54]

• Sustaining the MAGA Movement:
  "This is about fueling that powerful MAGA movement he built. And that MAGA movement is the GOP now. So the mega ideals around higher education, they're likely to stick around."
  — Alyssa Nadworny [11:15]

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9. Conclusion

Danielle Kurtzleben and Alyssa Nadworny provide a nuanced understanding of the Trump administration's strategies and their broader implications. While the immediate effects are palpable in the academic community, the enduring consequences on research, international collaborations, and the political ethos surrounding higher education remain to be fully realized.

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Notable Quotes:

• "The administration has thrown so many curveballs at colleges and universities, it can be hard to keep track." — Ari Shapiro [00:00]

• "The research funding is not a gift. The research funding is given to universities and other research institutions to carry out work that the federal government designates as high priority work." — Danielle Kurtzleben [01:50]

• "We are going to choke off the money to schools that aid the Marxist assault on our American heritage and on Western civilization itself." — Donald Trump [06:02]

• "This is about fueling that powerful MAGA movement he built. And that MAGA movement is the GOP now." — Alyssa Nadworny [11:15]

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This episode of Consider This provides a comprehensive exploration of the Trump administration's hostile stance towards higher education, revealing the intricate interplay between politics, academia, and societal values. It underscores the pivotal role universities play in innovation and economic growth, while also highlighting the pervasive tensions between conservative political agendas and academic freedom.

Transcript

[Ari Shapiro]

The Trump administration has thrown so many curveballs at colleges and universities, it can be hard to keep track. To start, they've already cut more than $10 billion in research grants that could affect the future of everything from medicine to personal tech. Says NYU Business School professor Sabrina Howell.

[Danielle Kurtzleben]

We would not have iPhones if universities.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Like MIT that are federally government funded hadn't worked on lasers.

[Ari Shapiro]

Then there are the arrests of international students. Federal agents have locked up student activists and revoked their visas. Even those who have not been targeted say they're living in fear. Like t a graduate student at Columbia, she asked that we only use her first initial because she's worried about being detained.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Every time I leave my house, I'm.

[Danielle Kurtzleben]

Like emotionally and mentally preparing myself for detention. So any man on the street or any like white or black van sparks.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Some sort of panic within me.

[Ari Shapiro]

The administration has also made sweeping demands, like requiring government oversight of certain college departments. Ted Mitchell is president of the American Council on Education, which represents most colleges in the US without the independence to be able to create and produce a wide ranging academic program, we lose academic freedom. And just this week, the administration said it intends to severely restrict some foreign students from enrolling.

[Donald Trump]

We have people want to go to Harvard and other schools. They can't get in because we have foreign students there. But I want to make sure that the foreign students are people that can love our country.

[Ari Shapiro]

Harvard is one of the schools pushing back against the White House. University President Alan Garber recently told npr. It's hard to see the logic in the government's actions.

[Danielle Kurtzleben]

The research funding is not a gift. The research funding is given to universities and other research institutions to carry out work that the federal government designates as high priority work. It is work that they want done. Shutting off that work does not help the country, even as it punishes Harvard.

[Ari Shapiro]

Consider this what's actually driving the federal government's crackdown on universities, and what does it mean for the future of higher education? From npr, I'm Ari Shapiro.

[Tonya Moseley]

I'm Tonya Moseley, co host of Fresh air. At a time of sound bites and short attention spans, our show is all about the deep dive. We do long form interviews with people behind the best in film, books, tv, music and journalism. Here our guests open up about their process and their lives in ways you've never heard before. Listen to the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and whyyy.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force showing up in your everyday life, powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the Short Wave podcast from npr.

[Danielle Kurtzleben]

Fall in love with new music every Friday at All songs considered. That's NPR's music recommendation. Podcast Fridays are where we spend our whole show sharing all the greatest new releases of the week. Make the hunt for new music a part of your life again. Tap into new Music Friday from All Songs Connect Considered available wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ari Shapiro]

It's Consider this from npr. The Trump administration's multi pronged assault on colleges and universities is part of an overarching strategy. Two of our correspondents are here to explain what the administration hopes to accomplish and what that means for those institutions. NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben and NPR education correspondent Alyssa Nadworny. Good to have you both here.

[Danielle Kurtzleben]

Thanks for having us.

[Ari Shapiro]

Thanks, Alyssa. The Trump administration's moves have affected lots of schools of all sizes, but elite universities, especially Ivy League schools, are a particular focus. What have these new policies meant for the institutions the White House is targeting?

[Danielle Kurtzleben]

Well, I have spent this semester talking with college presidents, administrators, students, and it has made life on campus extremely chaotic. I mean, people have told me that they have not experienced anything like this in higher ed since the McCarthy era. You know, students, especially international students, are their lives are in limbo and leaders, you know, are having to make really big decisions about what the finances at an institution looks like. I mean, take Northwestern, for example. They had almost a billion dollars in research grants cuts. These are things like cancer research, diabetes treatment, even things related to national security and weaponry technology.

[Ari Shapiro]

So, Danielle, what reason does the White House give for this broad assault?

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Well, they've given a couple of stated reasons. One is anti Semitism. In the wake of those October 7 attacks on Israel, there were a lot of pro Palestinian protests at universities, especially as Israel continued its harsh attacks and blockades on Gaza. So with all of that protest protesting came angry rhetoric towards Israel, and in some cases, some Jewish students on campuses were harassed. And that helped spark this focus on anti Semitism within the administration. There's also this broad fight against wokeness. Trump has regularly complained, especially on the campaign trail last year, about these colleges being where people learn things like what he calls critical race theory and gender ideology. Here's Trump at an event in Florida in 2023.

[Donald Trump]

We are going to choke off the money to schools that aid the Marxist assault on our American heritage and on Western civilization itself. The days of subsidizing communist indoctrination in our colleges will soon be over.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Now those who Take the side of the universities often argue that some of this, for example, the fight against anti Semitism, is pretext that the administration just wanted reasons to crack down on colleges. And indeed, many of the results of this that Alyssa was talking about, like hurting medical research, have nothing to do with wokeness or antisemitism.

[Ari Shapiro]

And if those are what you described as the stated reasons, what are the unstated reasons?

[Alyssa Nadworny]

To me, I put this into three pretty broad buckets. One is there's been this long standing backdrop of anger at colleges and universities among the conservative movement for a long time. I mean, the think back to the anti war protests dating back to the Vietnam War, also the Iraq war in the early 2000s. Furthermore, there were free speech fears about speech being chilled on college campuses. And all of that that I just talked about is reinforced by demographics. Trump's base, and increasingly the Republican base, is Americans without a four year degree. Democrats are the opposite. So that is one bucket. Another is that experts in authoritarianism often point out that other authoritarian leaders beyond Trump, often come down hard on universities. The goal is to limit free thinking, to limit opposition to authority, and not to mention just to limit the information environment. The one other thing I would add is that there's populist resentment here because of real issues like legacy admissions and the cost of these elite schools, plus rhetoric around affirmative action. A lot of people just perceive these schools as unfair.

[Ari Shapiro]

Alyssa, this is all playing out in the public sphere and in actual courts, in legal battles. What's going on behind the scenes between these schools and the administration?

[Danielle Kurtzleben]

Well, behind the scenes, universities are in dialogue with the government to figure out how they can be in line with these current laws, like the ban on affirmative action, among other things. I mean, the threat of or the leverage of federal funding to implement policy isn't new.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Ari.

[Danielle Kurtzleben]

You know, Harvard, for example, has acknowledged that they can and will do more to combat anti Semitism. A lot of college leaders have told me that even in the last few weeks, they've made Multiple trips to D.C. to meet with officials from the Education Department and in Congress. Columbia and Harvard say they have been involved in this process of negotiation, but they say the grant freezings are undermining those talks and the process that is supposed to unfold.

[Ari Shapiro]

Daniel, what can you tell us about why this has become so central to Donald Trump's political project?

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Well, I think that like so many topics right now, this is about identity politics, specifically the identity of being a MAGA voter. If I am a voter who loves Donald Trump, this is about not Only whether I did or didn't go to college. But do I think colleges are elitist or not? Or do I think gender study majors are bad? Beyond that, it's also about do I want to punish people who are on the opposite side of me on those issues? That willingness to punish is also central to Trumpism. We see that in his attacks on law firms, groups of immigrants, and press outlets like how he comes after the ap. And speaking of identity, I think this particular fight against elite universities also fits with the common man appeal that Trump really tries to maintain. Trump and his staffers often say some variation on the idea that, you know, we in the US need people in trade schools, not not elite universities.

[Ari Shapiro]

But if Trump and his allies are framing this as a kind of head to head decision, elite colleges versus vocational schools or community colleges. Alyssa, is it a binary choice for the federal government? Does cutting a grant for Harvard mean a small school somewhere else will get more money?

[Danielle Kurtzleben]

No. I mean, that's not how government funding works. These two things actually aren't at odds with each other. In the sense that money for cancer research is allocated by Congress. It's not money that would have otherwise be spent on community college. You know, one thing, Ari, that's worth mentioning is that very few people actually go to these elite universities. Less than 1% of all U.S. college students. Most Americans are at community colleges and regional four year public universities which educate students on the trades. So the idea that more federal dollars are going to elite schools instead of these institutions means that money isn't actually flowing to where the majority of the students are. And so Trump's idea to fund trade schools is perhaps an idea that people across the aisle could actually agree on.

[Ari Shapiro]

What could the long term impact be for the students and universities and also for Trump?

[Danielle Kurtzleben]

There are huge stakes for students and institutions. I mean, think of the research that has been paused in terms of advances in health and technology. And then when it comes to students, I mean, international students alone contribute about $43 billion to the U.S. economy every year. We're already seeing applications for international students down. You know, they're choosing to go elsewhere.

[Unknown]

Now.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

As for Trump, the impact is harder to see, at least directly. It won't be votes because he can't run again, even if he likes to talk about it. I would say this is about fueling that powerful MAGA movement he built. And that MAGA movement is the GOP now. So the mega ideals around higher education, they're likely to stick around.

[Ari Shapiro]

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben and Alyssa Nadworny thank you.

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Thank you.

[Danielle Kurtzleben]

You bet.

[Ari Shapiro]

This episode was produced by Michelle Aslam with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Sarah Handel, Lauren Migaki and Kelsey Snell, our executive director. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Thanks to our Consider THIS plus listeners who support the work of NPR journalists and help keep public radio strong. Supporters also hear every episode without messages from sponsors. Learn more at plus.NPR.org It's Consider this from NPR. I'm Ari Shapiro.

[Sarah Gonzalez]

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