Mark Warner decries 'outrageous' ouster of University of Virginia president
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Sunday the Trump administration was 'doing damage to our flagship university' after the University of Virginia's president resigned after pressure from the White House over the school's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
James E. Ryan, who had served as the university's president since 2018, announced his resignation Friday amid the Justice Department's ongoing probes into DEI practices at schools around the nation. Speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation," Warner defended Ryan and predicted that other universities will not be exempt from the administration's goals.
'This is the most outrageous action, I think, this crowd has taken on education,' Warner said. 'I thought the Republicans were about states' rights, I thought the Republicans were about let's transfer more power in the states. This federal DOE and Department of Justice should get their nose out of the University of Virginia. They are doing damage to our flagship university. And if they can do it here, they'll do it elsewhere.'
The Trump administration had been communicating privately with University of Virginia officials, threatening to revoke millions of dollars in federal funding if Ryan did not step down, according to The New York Times.
In his resignation Friday, Ryan said that though he supports fighting for what he believes in, he 'cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job.'
Warner praised Ryan for putting his school above his career but said the ultimatum never should have been offered.
'We have great public universities in Virginia. We have a very strong governance system, where we have an independent board of visitors appointed by the governor. Jim Ryan had done a very good job,' Warner told host Margaret Brennan.
Ryan is one of the numerous university leaders to draw the attention of President Donald Trump's administration as the White House attempts to limit DEI policies and reduce progressive influence in higher education. Dozens of elite universities, including Harvard and Columbia, have faced scrutiny and pressure.
Columbia was the first school to come under the administration's scrutiny. Earlier this year, the administration canceled $400 million in grants to the university, saying it had failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitic protests on campus.
After the funding was pulled, Columbia agreed to a series of changes the administration set forward, including changes to the school's on-campus protest policies, security and the Middle Eastern studies program.
Meanwhile, Harvard University and the White House have been engaged in a series of legal battles, including over student admissions. Trump recently announced a potential detente with the school.
'They want to take on public universities the way they have now taken on the Ivys,' Warner said Sunday. 'End of the day, this is going to hurt our universities, chase away world-class talent and, frankly, if we don't have some level of academic freedom, then what kind of country are we?'
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