‘The Recent Actions of the Trump Administration Constitute a Modern-Day McCarthyism’
Original release: https://www.aft.org/press-release/afts-weingarten-trumps-attacks-higher-education
For Release: Monday, March 17, 2025
Contact: Andrew Crook
o: 202-393-8637 | c: 607-280-6603
WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement on the Trump administration’s arbitrary assault on America’s colleges and universities under the guise of rooting out antisemitism. The AFT is the nation’s largest higher education union.
“Our union is committed to calling out antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and other kinds of hate. But the recent actions of the Trump administration constitute a modern-day McCarthyism—an assault on universities and knowledge rather than a genuine attempt to make minority groups, this time Jews, safer.
“On March 10, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sent letters to 60 colleges under investigation for antisemitic discrimination and harassment, threatening them with punitive actions, including the withholding of research funding. As educators and unionists committed to ensuring all students can thrive in safe and welcoming environments free from hate and violence, we recognize that rising antisemitism jeopardizes the democratizing project of higher education and the fabric of American society. But these sweeping, arbitrary actions are a witch hunt, not a legitimate probe.
“As we made clear in our November 2023 resolution ‘Condemning Hate and Affirming Freedom of Speech on Campus,’ one of the hallmarks of U.S. colleges and universities is that they are a marketplace of ideas where free and open discussion and disagreement is encouraged. Instead, the administration is weaponizing antisemitism investigations to attack disfavored speech and stoke culture wars, distrust and division. Last week, Elon Musk retweeted a post absolving Hitler of blame for the Holocaust—and yet he and other Trump allies fond of throwing Nazi salutes suffer no public consequences.
“Furthermore, the actual research being threatened here drives national innovation, and withholding funding will throttle ingenuity and diminish the economic engine of hundreds of college towns.
“There have been times when speech is not just distasteful, but inciteful, and we agree that must be addressed, as the Biden administration aimed to do. Campuses must be safe and allow debate to flourish on all sides. Sadly, the Trump administration’s recent actions do nothing to make our students—including our Jewish students—safer. In fact, the department’s Feb. 14 “Dear Colleague” letter that called for the suspension of diversity, equity and inclusion programs on campuses is an attack on opportunity that has only pitted communities against one another.
“Our union challenged this letter in court. And we will continue to call out these attacks on our students, our campuses and our democracy and to mobilize our allies and our colleges and universities to do the same.”
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The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.