Trump administration freezes $108M at Duke amid inquiry into alleged racial discrimination

WASHINGTON AP The Trump administration is freezing million in research funding to Duke University as the federal executive accuses the school of racial discrimination in the form of affirmative action according to a person familiar with the matter The National Institutes of Robustness halted the funding to the private university in North Carolina revealed the person who spoke Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations Earlier this week the Department of Vitality and Human Services and the Tuition Department sent a joint letter alleging racial preferences in Duke s hiring and admissions Duke is the latest institution to have its federal funding held up as the establishment investigates claims of antisemitism and diversity equity and inclusion policies the administration says are unlawful It follows other probes including at Harvard Columbia and Cornell Duke did not without delay comment In Monday s letter to Duke leaders of HHS and the Coaching Department accused the university of vile racism It alludes to accusations of racial preferences at Duke its anatomical school and its wellbeing system that if substantiated would make Duke unfit for any further financial relationship with the federal governing body The letter accuses Duke of providing racial preferences in recruiting admissions scholarships hiring and more It refers to assertions of discrimination without offering specific examples Racism is a scourge when practiced by individuals but it is especially corrosive when enshrined in the nation s greater part eminent and respected institutions according to the letter signed by Strength Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and Mentoring Secretary Linda McMahon It s part of a broader campaign to eradicate DEI practices the Trump administration describes as discrimination against white and Asian American people In their letter the agencies order Duke to end any practices at its soundness system that give benefits or advantages based on race Saying Duke is unlikely to be capable of an honest and trustworthy review the letter takes the strange step of requesting a new Merit and Civil Rights Committee that would be approved by the administration and authorized by the school s board of trustees The panel would be tasked with identifying and ending any racial preferences If problems remained after six months the administration would pursue legal enforcement the letter stated The Mentoring Department separately opened an study into the Duke Law Journal on Monday over claims that it gave advantages to prospective editors from underrepresented groups The Trump administration has used federal research funding as leverage in its effort to reshape universities that President Donald Trump has described as hotbeds of liberalism It has presented a dilemma for universities that rely on federal grants as a major source of revenue spurring selected to take on debt and find other tactics to self-fund research Duke University spent billion on research last year with nearly coming from federal sources according to the university s website Even before the latest funding freeze Duke faced financial turmoil Last week university leaders explained almost employees had accepted voluntary buyouts but that layoffs would still be needed Bureaucrats stated they needed to reduce costs amid uncertainty around federal research funding and a hike to the university s federal endowment tax The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on universities in hopes of striking deals like one that Columbia University signed last week The Ivy League school agreed to pay million and make changes to admissions hiring participant discipline and more in exchange for regaining access to federal funding The administration has described it as a template for other universities including Harvard which has been in talks with the administration even as it battles the White House in court The Associated Press instruction coverage receives financial aid from multiple private foundations AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org Source