Demand Progress

Fight Trump’s university loyalty oath and protect critical education funding!

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    Fight Trump’s university loyalty oath and protect critical education funding!

    Petition to Congress:
    We urge you to speak out in opposition to the White House’s university compact urging schools to pledge support to a political agenda in order to receive federal funding. Please protect critical funding for higher education, medical research, and scientific breakthroughs.

    Trump is urging universities to sign a loyalty pledge to his far-right agenda in order to get "priority access" to federal funding. He ranted on Truth Social that colleges are "corrupting our Youth and Society with WOKE, SOCIALIST, and ANTI-AMERICAN Ideology."1

    MIT became the first university to reject the Trump pledge, a move to prioritize academic independence.2 In response, the White House said any school rebuffing their offer is "bowing to radical, left-wing bureaucrats."3 Faculty at the University of Arizona called the pledge "extortion."4

    This is the Trump 2.0 playbook: threaten to cut off funding from institutions unless they agree to follow his draconian policies. Trump is trying to exert complete control over every corner of society: from universities and the Smithsonian to media corporations and Big Tech. Congress must protect federal funding for higher education NOW!

    Sign the petition: Block Trump’s far-right loyalty oath and secure critical federal funding for universities!

    The White House is using this pledge to pressure schools to cap the number of international students, "protect conservative voices," adhere to right-wing views on gender, and a list of other Trump admin education policy priorities.5 The American Association of University Professors said this loyalty oath would "usher in a new era of thought policing in American higher education."6

    The White House is using the threat to withhold vital funding as a cudgel to force universities to submit to his agenda. The White House wants to control thought and speech in every classroom, business, museum, and home in the country.

    Congress must protect universities, funding for critical medical and scientific research, and stand up to this attack on education.

    Sign the petition: End Trump’s authoritarian university loyalty pledge!

    Sources:

    1. Bloomberg, "Trump Offers All Colleges Preferential Funding Plan Rejected by MIT,” October 13, 2025.
    2. Ibid.
    3. Ibid.
    4. AZ Mirror, "UA faculty say Trump’s funding deal is ‘extortion,’ as university leadership mulls whether to comply,” October 9, 2025.
    5. The New York Times, "Trump Administration Asks Colleges to Sign ‘Compact’ to Get Funding Preference,” October 2, 2025.
    6. American Association of University Professors, "Universities Must Reject Trump Admin "Loyalty Oath" Compacts,” October 2, 2025.
    7. The New York Times, "Trump Offered Universities an Invitation for a Deal. Some See a Trap.” October 2, 2025.
    8. Ibid.
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