Education Sec. McMahon Defends Trump’s Freeze on Harvard Funds, Cites Title VI Violations

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon joined “Fox News Sunday” where she defended President Donald Trump’s freezing of Harvard’s funding grants and attempted to relieve concerns about Chinese students in the U.S.

While the Trump administration is in the midst of a legal battle with Harvard regarding Trump’s freezing of its federal funding, McMahon reminded Americans of Harvard’s history of censoring Jewish students and faculty on its campus. 

“They cannot do the things that they’re doing relative to taking away the rights of other students,” McMahon said. 

She also said the administration will appeal a U.S. district judge’s ruling on the case.

“We clearly did our investigation, and we found them to be in violation of Title VI, so we’re going to pursue that,” McMahon said. “And I want to continue to negotiate with Harvard because I think the best place for us to get is not decided by the courts.” 

Regarding Illinois providing in-state tuition to people who are in the U.S. illegally and not giving the same benefits to American citizens, McMahon said “the first benefits ought to go to U.S. citizens.” 

When it comes to Trump’s beliefs about students on visas attending American universities, McMahon said he would say American students should get spots at the universities first. Foreign students should be vetted and “the best and the brightest” accepted, with the point of bringing them into the U.S. economy.