Implementing a Sweeping Anti-DEI Agenda in the Second Trump Administration

This chapter provides an overview of the immediate and far-reaching impact of anti-DEI Executive Orders on federal agencies and higher education in President Donald Trump's second term. It discusses the rapid coordination of federal initiatives on multiple fronts and the use of allegations of antisemitism to exact unparalleled concessions from institutions of higher education. Due to the aggressive incursion of the federal government into higher education, the autonomy and independence of both public and private universities are under threat. The focus of the Trump administration on withholding federal funding for the research enterprise in elite universities has had ripple effects across the higher education space. In particular, the chapter discusses and compares the attacks on Columbia University and Harvard University and shares key elements of the Trump administration's ongoing strategy.