When President Trump says he’s restoring order and accountability to our crumbling institutions, he means it—and this week’s deal with Cornell University is proof.
After months of scrutiny, the Trump administration has finalized an agreement with Cornell that restores hundreds of millions in federal funding—money that had been frozen amidst a serious civil rights investigation into rampant antisemitism on campus. Let’s be crystal clear: this wasn’t some bureaucratic slap on the wrist. This was a wake-up call to an elite Ivy League institution that thought it could peddle woke dogma, ignore Jewish students’ safety, and still cash in on taxpayer dollars. Not under this administration.
The deal signals a new era of accountability in higher education, one where universities don’t get to hide behind “diversity” slogans while fostering division and hate. Under the terms of the agreement, Cornell will pay $30 million back to the federal government and commit another $30 million to its agriculture and farming efficiency programs—areas where the university actually adds value to the country, instead of stoking ideological extremism.
And let’s not overlook what’s really happening here. President Trump’s administration is restoring funding not because Cornell got away with anything, but because the university was forced to confront the toxic political climate it helped create. The civil rights probe, triggered by alarming reports of antisemitism, was a shot across the bow. It said: play by the rules, protect all students—including Jewish Americans—or lose your access to America’s wallet.
This is no small thing. For years, universities like Cornell have wrapped themselves in the cloak of “academic freedom” while turning their campuses into ideological battlegrounds. They’ve become breeding grounds for anti-Americanism, antisemitism, and Marxist identity politics—all under the guise of “equity” and “inclusion.” And when Jewish students raised concerns about being marginalized, harassed, and targeted, they were brushed aside in favor of the latest DEI orthodoxy.
Now, thanks to the leadership of President Trump, that era is coming to an end.
Let’s not forget: it was the America First Policy Institute that originally filed a lawsuit exposing Cornell’s discriminatory DEI policies. These weren’t wild conspiracy theories. They were documented instances of Jewish students being silenced, excluded, and even threatened—all while the administration turned a blind eye in the name of “progress.” The Trump administration responded not with platitudes, but with action: launching an investigation, freezing funding, and demanding change.
And change is exactly what happened.
As part of the agreement, Cornell not only had to pay out millions—it had to recommit to the very principles it has spent years undermining. In the university’s own words, they’re now reaffirming their dedication to “academic freedom, independence, and institutional autonomy.” Translation: they’re being dragged—kicking and screaming—back to the basics of what higher education is supposed to be.
This is what leadership looks like. President Trump didn’t just bark about the problem—he put institutions on notice. If you want federal dollars, you don’t get to discriminate. You don’t get to promote antisemitism under the guise of “anti-Zionism.” And you certainly don’t get to indoctrinate students on the taxpayer’s dime.
Compare that to the Biden years, when universities could do no wrong. When woke administrators were treated like high priests of morality, and any criticism of campus radicalism was dismissed as “right-wing hysteria.” The Trump administration isn’t playing that game. It’s drawing lines. It’s demanding results. And it’s putting the American people first.
This isn’t just a victory for Jewish students at Cornell. It’s a win for every American who’s tired of watching elite institutions spit in the face of our values while cashing our checks. It proves that with the right leadership, we can take back our institutions—not by burning them down, but by forcing them to live up to the standards they’ve long abandoned.
The message is clear: under President Trump, antisemitism, discrimination, and radicalism won’t be subsidized. Accountability is back—and it’s about time.
