Recently, the Trump administration has made a concerted effort to target US universities, focusing particularly on issues of free speech, diversity, and political ideologies in academia. This initiative is not simply about education or campus life, but part of a broader vision to reshape American society and recapture cultural control. A couple of years ago, conservative writer Christopher Rufo traveled to Budapest for a fellowship, where he was greeted by Hungary’s then-minister of culture and innovation, János Csák. Despite Hungary’s relatively small population and economic challenges, Rufo believed it offered important lessons for the US. He saw similarities between the two countries, both facing cultural decline, left-wing institutions, and challenges to traditional values. However, unlike the US, Hungary had a plan. As reported by The Atlantic, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary was employing “muscular state policy” to reverse cultural decay, with a major focus on reshaping its universities. Rufo believed this could be a model for similar cultural shifts in the US through a conservative approach to higher education.
Rufo’s approach has involved putting pressure on major institutions like Columbia University, leading to intense investigations into claims of anti-Semitism and other issues. However, these actions are not just about addressing specific instances of discrimination or promoting free speech—they are part of a much broader goal to fundamentally alter the higher education landscape in America. By leveraging federal funding and policy changes, the Trump administration is pushing universities to adopt more conservative frameworks, with significant implications for academic freedom, curriculum design, and student life.
The push to control US universities
According to the Atlantic, the Trump administration’s moves against institutions like Columbia are not typical cases of regulatory oversight. Instead of following the standard process of conducting thorough investigations over months or even years, the Department of Education has quickly moved to suspend significant amounts of federal funding from schools under investigation, including the $400 million removal from Columbia within days. The quick and aggressive response, as detailed by the Atlantic, seems designed to send a clear message to other universities: comply with conservative ideological shifts, or risk severe financial penalties.
This strategy has been described as an attempt to “scare” other institutions into compliance. As explained by Adam Harris in his interview with the Atlantic, the removal of funding from major universities is not necessarily about the specific actions at Columbia, but about setting a precedent that will force other schools to adjust their policies in order to avoid similar scrutiny. “Once you start restricting speech in one manner, that sort of means you can restrict speech in a lot of different spaces,” Harris noted, adding that this could affect a range of activities on campus, from protests to classroom discussions. This process resembles historical efforts to suppress dissent, such as those seen during the civil rights era, when Southern governors threatened to withhold funding from colleges that allowed sit-ins or protests.
Creating a new conservative elite
The broader goal of this campaign appears to be the creation of a new conservative intellectual elite. As reported by the Atlantic, the ultimate vision for conservative leaders is to establish educational environments that produce individuals who align with traditional values—specifically, Christian faith, family life, and limited government intervention. This is not just about reshaping academic policy but about producing a new generation of leaders who embrace these ideals and challenge the liberal educational consensus that has shaped US universities for decades.
Rufo, who has been a vocal advocate for these changes, has pointed to institutions like Hillsdale College and the College of the Ozarks as examples of what the new conservative elite should look like. These schools, as noted by the Atlantic, have embraced a curriculum that emphasizes patriotic education, military training, and a deep connection to traditional American values. At the College of the Ozarks, for example, students are required to take a patriotic-education course that blends current events with the founding documents of the US, alongside a focus on military discipline.
While these conservative schools are not large in number, their influence is growing. Rufo, as quoted by the Atlantic, argued that these institutions represent the future, contrasting them with elite universities like Harvard, which he believes have lost their way. The success of these smaller schools in cultivating a specific ideological worldview is seen as a model for how the broader university system could shift in the future.
The role of federal funding in shaping university policy
The influence of federal funding on university decision-making is a critical aspect of this effort. US universities are highly dependent on federal dollars, from research grants to financial aid for students. For institutions that rely heavily on tuition, federal funding in the form of student loans and Pell Grants is essential to keeping their operations running. A loss of funding, especially from Title IV, which governs federal student aid programs, could lead to a rapid financial collapse for many colleges.
This was demonstrated when the Department of Education suspended $400 million in funding from Columbia University, forcing the institution to reconsider its policies and actions. Smaller schools, particularly those that rely more on federal support, are also vulnerable to such threats. As the Atlantic reports, the removal of funding is not always tied directly to specific incidents of discrimination but is rather part of a larger strategy to pressure universities into compliance with conservative ideologies. For many colleges, the prospect of losing federal funding is enough to make them reconsider policies on diversity, inclusion, and speech—sometimes leading to self-censorship.
The chilling effect on academic freedom
One of the most concerning outcomes of this strategy is the potential for a chilling effect on academic freedom. As Harris notes, universities are already beginning to restrict themselves in anticipation of federal pushback. For example, when a “Dear Colleague” letter was issued by the administration urging schools to limit the use of race in scholarships, hiring, and faculty committees, some institutions began to self-censor, removing terms and concepts related to diversity from course materials and presentations. High Point University, as reported by the Atlantic, even sent out a letter instructing faculty to eliminate over 40 words related to diversity and inclusion from their materials.
This self-censorship, which is increasingly seen in response to both federal and state-level pressures, poses a serious threat to the principles of shared governance, academic freedom, and open inquiry. As universities worry about losing funding, they may begin to prioritize political correctness and ideological conformity over academic exploration and intellectual diversity.
A long-term cultural shift?
While the full impact of these changes remains to be seen, the long-term goal is clear: to reshape American higher education to produce a more conservative, patriotic, and ideologically aligned elite. The attack on US universities is not simply about addressing specific issues like anti-Semitism or political correctness; it is part of a larger cultural project to reassert traditional values and rewrite the educational system in a way that supports those values. As the Atlantic reports, the Trump administration and its supporters are working to create a new framework for higher education—one where conservative values are central, and academic freedom takes a backseat to ideological conformity.
This push to reshape American universities may not be an immediate process, but its long-term implications could fundamentally change the way higher education in the US operates, producing a generation of students who align more closely with conservative ideals. Whether or not this vision comes to fruition will depend on the response of university leaders and how far the Trump administration is willing to go in its efforts to reshape the cultural and intellectual landscape of the country.