❓WHAT HAPPENED: California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) threatened to cut state funding to universities that sign President Donald J. Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Gov. Newsom, President Trump, White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson, and California universities.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The threat was posted online by Newsom amidst ongoing discussions about the compact and its implementation at universities, including the University of Southern California.
💬KEY QUOTE: “By opposing the compact, Newsom is opposing efforts to cap wild tuition hikes and to protect free speech,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson.
🎯IMPACT: The compact seeks to ensure academic freedom, protect free speech, and address anti-Semitism, but Newsom’s opposition could limit its adoption in California.
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) announced he intends to withhold public funding from any universities in the state that sign President Donald J. Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” While the Trump White House emphasized that the compact is aimed at bolstering academic freedom and safeguarding conservative voices, Newsom alleges that the agreement is meant to impose “radical conservative ideological restrictions” on higher education institutions.
“If any California university signs this radical agreement, they’ll lose billions in state funding—including Cal Grants—instantly. California will not bankroll schools that sell out their students, professors, researchers, and surrender academic freedom,” Newsom wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter), adding: “California universities that bend to the will of Donald Trump and sign this insane ‘compact’ will lose billions in state funding—IMMEDIATELY. California will not bankroll schools that sign away academic freedom.”
The compact has reportedly been presented to the University of Southern California (USC)—along with at least eight other institutions—and lays out 10 provisions the school must adopt to receive a boost in federal funding. Among requirements are equality in admissions without racial or gender preferences, ensuring free speech and diverse viewpoints, and protecting women’s sports and locker rooms by recognizing biological sex distinctions.
Other provisions address financial responsibility, avoiding foreign entanglements, and institutional neutrality on political and social issues. The compact also outlines enforcement mechanisms, including oversight by an external monitor reporting to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Newsom did not specify which provisions he found objectionable, referring to them only as “insane.” White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson responded to the governor’s threat, stating that Newsom should “worry about the disaster he’s created in his own state,” citing policies that allow transgender athletes in girls’ sports.
Jackson added, “By opposing the compact, Newsom is opposing efforts to cap wild tuition hikes and to protect free speech.”
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