MIT, the first U.S. university to reject a federal funding proposal from President Donald Trump’s administration that ties research grants to compliance with a conservative policy agenda.
In a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), President Sally Kornbluth said the university “cannot accept conditions that undermine freedom of inquiry or compromise our independence as an academic institution.” She added that the White House proposal “includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression.”
The Trump administration sent the proposal to nine universities in early October 2025. It would require institutions to end the consideration of gender, race, ethnicity, or other identity-related factors in admissions and hiring. It would also obligate them to promote what it calls a “climate supportive of conservative ideas” in exchange for continued federal funding.
The document, seen by several U.S. media outlets, asks universities to “commit to transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish or belittle conservative views.” The administration argues that federal funds should not “subsidize ideological discrimination.”
In response, MIT said its current policies already “meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document” but that the premise of linking academic funding to political ideology “is inconsistent with our belief that research support should be based solely on scientific merit.”
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The same offer was reportedly sent to eight other universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Southern California. Their responses are expected by October 20, 2025.
President Trump has repeatedly clashed with major U.S. universities, accusing them of promoting “liberal indoctrination” and discriminating against conservative students. His administration has sought to reshape higher education by conditioning federal grants on compliance with its cultural and ideological priorities.
In recent months, the White House has intensified its scrutiny of elite institutions. Harvard University has faced funding freezes and ongoing investigations following pro-Palestinian protests and allegations of Antisemitism. Columbia University earlier this year agreed to a $200 million settlement with the administration after pledging to eliminate race-based admissions practices.
While some institutions have entered negotiations with Washington, others—like MIT—have taken a firm stand, defending academic independence as central to the nation’s higher education system.
In Kornbluth’s words, “Scientific inquiry, thrives only where freedom and integrity are protected.”
