MIT becomes the first major university to reject President Trump’s education reform compact, choosing liberal ideology over benefits that would directly help American students and taxpayers.
Story Overview
- MIT rejects the Trump administration’s education compact, which requires merit-based foreign student selection and transgender sports restrictions.
- The university claims scientific funding should be based on “scientific merit alone,” while opposing merit-based student admissions.
- Trump’s compact offers tuition freezes for Americans, priority grants, and stricter vetting of foreign students.
- Eight other elite universities are still reviewing the proposal, and the University of Texas has shown a positive response.
MIT Prioritizes Woke Ideology Over Student Benefits
Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth announced that her institution would reject the Trump administration’s education compact, making MIT the first of nine targeted universities to decline federal funding benefits.
The compact requires universities to implement common-sense policies, including biological sex-based bathroom and sports policies, merit-based foreign student selection, and five-year tuition freezes for American students.
Kornbluth’s rejection letter reveals the liberal academic establishment’s priorities: maintaining woke policies over helping American families afford education.
Trump’s Merit-Based Reforms Target Academic Corruption
The administration’s compact addresses longstanding concerns about higher education’s anti-American bias and financial exploitation of students.
Universities agreeing to the terms must screen foreign students for hostility toward America and its values, require American civics instruction for international students, and select foreign applicants based on extraordinary talent rather than financial advantage to the university.
These reforms directly combat the practice of wealthy foreign students displacing qualified Americans while universities profit from inflated international tuition rates.
Liberal Hypocrisy on Display in MIT Response
Kornbluth’s letter exposes the contradictory thinking plaguing elite universities. She claims MIT already “rewards merit” and practices need-blind admissions, yet simultaneously argues that “scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone” while rejecting merit-based foreign student selection.
The university president champions “independent thinking and open competition for excellence” while opposing policies that would ensure exactly that outcome. This cognitive dissonance demonstrates how deeply woke ideology has corrupted academic leadership’s ability to reason consistently.
MIT is first school to reject Trump administration's agenda in exchange for funding benefits https://t.co/LsYbSRYwDV via @nbcnews
— Jackie Democracy rules. (@JackieLyon20) October 13, 2025
Conservative Universities Show Promise for Reform
While MIT leads the resistance against educational accountability, the University of Texas signals a different approach. Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife welcomed the opportunity to work with the Trump administration, suggesting some institutions recognize the value of putting American students first.
The remaining seven universities—including Vanderbilt, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, USC, University of Arizona, Brown, and University of Virginia—continue reviewing the proposal. Their decisions will reveal which institutions prioritize ideological conformity over student welfare and national interests.
