Ranking Member Lofgren Commends University Leaders Rejection of Trump Attempt to Control and Intimidate Academia through Compact Agreement
(Washington, DC) – As of today, the majority of the universities that were initially offered a “compact” by President Trump formally rejected the offer of preferential treatment and funding in exchange for agreeing to terms laid out by the administration.
“I am glad to see universities stand together and reject this ridiculous compact offer by the Trump administration,” said Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren. “Anything short of a wholesale rejection of this bribe would be a capitulation to the Trump administration’s terrible scheme to control academia, intimidate researchers, and silence science. For the last ten months, Trump has dragged science into his petty political spats. Science should always remain apolitical. These university leaders understand that. Their courage shows what defending academic freedom looks like. As Ranking Member of the Science Committee, I commend them and stand with them. I hope all academic institutions who have been offered this corrupt compact, or anything like it, will reject it. What’s at stake is the future of American science, and when science is politicized, we all lose.”
The following academic institutions were offered the compact on October 1:
Brown University
Dartmouth College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Arizona
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern California
University of Texas at Austin
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University
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