Latest news with #andHealthandHumanServices
New York Times
07-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
The Trump administration cancels $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University.
The Trump administration announced on Friday that it had canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University because of what it described as the school's failure to protect Jewish students from harassment. The announcement escalated the administration's targeting of Columbia, where protests last year over the war in Gaza set off a nationwide debate over free speech, campus policing and antisemitism, and led to similar demonstrations at schools nationwide. On Monday, Linda McMahon, the secretary of education, warned that Columbia would face the loss of federal funding if it did not take additional action to combat antisemitism on campus. A statement issued by four federal agencies on Friday announcing the funding cuts referred to ongoing protests and antisemitic harassment at Columbia, though to what extent pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus can be considered antisemitic remains in dispute. The Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services, along with the General Services Administration, issued the statement. While the statement did not indicate what grants would be terminated, it said that the Health and Human Services and Education Departments would assist in issuing stop-work orders to immediately freeze the university's access to some funds. The statement said that the cancellations represented the 'first round of action' and that additional cancellations were expected to follow. Columbia currently holds more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments, the statement said. The school also faces three federal investigations into allegations of antisemitism on campus that have been announced over the past several weeks. 'Universities must comply with all federal anti-discrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding' Ms. McMahon said. 'For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus. Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.' A Columbia spokeswoman said the university was reviewing the announcement and that it pledged to work with the federal government to restore the funding. 'We take Columbia's legal obligations seriously and understand how serious this announcement is and are committed to combating antisemitism and ensuring the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff,' the spokeswoman said. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Latest Executive Order Is Yet Another Attack on Trans Kids
TheThem' President Donald Trump signed yet another executive order on Wednesday attacking trans people and anti-racist education, the latest development in the new administration's 'anti-woke' agenda. The latest order, titled 'Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,' generally accuses public schools of having introduced 'radical, anti-American ideologies' into the classroom. Specifically, Trump's order takes aim at racial justice education and policies that affirm a trans student's gender, which it calls 'discriminatory equity ideology' and 'gender ideology' respectively. Repeating false and misleading claims Trump previously made on the campaign trail, the order asserts that students are 'compelled' by their teachers 'to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors' based on race, and 'made to question whether they were born in the wrong body and whether to view their parents [...] as enemies to be blamed.' The order's primary effect is to require the Departments of Education, Defense, and Health and Human Services to submit an 'Ending Indoctrination Strategy' within 90 days. That plan will identify all federal funding streams that 'support or subsidize [...] gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology.' Part of the 'strategy' will specifically deal with the social transitions of trans youth — as opposed to medical transitions, which Trump is seeking to outlaw via another executive order. Trump's order calls on the Attorney General to work with state governments in pursuing legal action against schools and educators who assist students with social transitioning in some way, whether through counseling, affirming their name and/or pronouns, or allowing them to use school facilities consistent with their gender. Trump's latest order also lays out disturbing, propagandistic rhetoric about Trump's intent for the public education system as a whole: because racially conscious education 'undermines national unity,' Trump claims, schools should instead promote a 'patriotic education,' defined in the order as instruction that provides a 'unifying, inspiring, and ennobling characterization' of the United States and its history. Schools should note how the U.S. has 'admirably grown closer to its noble principles' over time, and tell students that 'celebration of America's greatness and history is proper.' (Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, anti-trans WWE co-founder Linda McMahon, has not yet been scheduled for a confirmation hearing as of Thursday; Trump has also vowed to eliminate the department entirely.) Separately, Trump also signed another executive order Wednesday seeking to expand 'school choice' — in other words, parents' access to 'private and faith-based' schools, a major priority for Trump's allies like Chris Rufo and Corey DeAngelis. 'It is the policy of my Administration to support parents in choosing and directing the upbringing and education of their children,' Trump declared in that order. Trey Walk, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, told CBS News that K-12 students 'have a right to learn about how discrimination can be entrenched in law and society. If the U.S. denies young people this knowledge, it has little hope of eradicating racism.' In an emailed statement Thursday morning, New York-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group The NEW Pride Agenda condemned the order as a 'direct and dangerous assault on transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) youth, educators, and the broader LGBTQIA+ community.' 'Let us be clear: these unconstitutional attempts to tie federal funding to the suppression of bodily autonomy and privacy violate fundamental rights — and they will not stand. These attacks may begin with those at the margins, but their harm extends to us all,' organizers wrote, calling on New York officials to 'fully implement' the state's LGBTQ+ protective 'shield laws.' The National Education Association (NEA) also denounced the order in a press release issued Wednesday, calling it 'dangerous' to education. NEA President Becky Pringle accused Trump of 'shamelessly trying to restrict the freedom of educators to teach and students to learn,' adding that the 'unnecessary and punitive executive order does nothing to help educators inspire their students to learn and to give them the resources needed to succeed.' Everything You Need to Know About Trump's Executive Order Attempting to Erase Trans Americans The president signed the sweeping order within hours of taking office, signaling that curtailing the rights of trans people is a top priority for his administration. That Trump would tie anti-racism and trans identity so closely together in the same executive order is no accident. Far-right ideologues have for years sought to suppress both racial consciousness and gender fluidity, in the name of a radical natalist ideology that highly values white, gender-conforming children. 'When you put together all the moves this week, trans and DEI and immigration, they can seem to be disparate, but what I think they all have in common is 'Great Replacement' theory,' trans journalist Imara Jones told MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin on Wednesday, referring to the conspiracy theory that white people are being globally 'replaced' by other demographics. 'If you are going to enforce patriarchy, then eliminating the idea of trans people is essential,' Jones continued, adding, 'This is really about the health of our democracy and whether we include people or not.' Get the best of what's queer. Sign up for Them's weekly newsletter here. Originally Appeared on them.
