US Education Secretary Encounters Criticism
(MENAFN) US Education Secretary Linda McMahon encountered backlash on Tuesday regarding the financial support provided to Harvard University.
During her appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee, McMahon outlined that her department’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal intends to reduce the federal deficit and enhance state authority in educational decision-making.
"We seek to shrink federal bureaucracy, save taxpayer money and empower states, who best know their local needs to manage their education in this country," McMahon explained to the senators.
The administration’s budget blueprint requests a USD12 billion decrease in funding, representing a 15 percent cut to the agency that Leader Donald Trump has pledged to dismantle.
This hearing took place amid growing tensions following the Trump administration’s warning to suspend federal funding for multiple universities, including Harvard, due to campus demonstrations supporting Palestine and programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
The government has already withdrawn USD3 billion in funds and threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
McMahon asserted that the measures taken against Columbia University and Harvard demonstrate the administration’s stance that it "will not tolerate antisemitism on campuses or discrimination of any kind."
However, concerns were raised during the session when a senator referenced a letter sent to Harvard demanding they terminate all diversity initiatives but simultaneously require the implementation of viewpoint diversity, stating, “In the letter that you sent to Harvard demanding that they make certain changes, you told them that they had to end all of their diversity programs but that they have to institute viewpoint diversity. That doesn’t seem to make sense.”
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