Latest news with #DOJ
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Time for a new leadership': Justice department official on Virginia University president James Ryan's resignation
James Ryan (Image credit: University of Virginia) A senior United States justice department (DOJ) official said "it's time for a new leadership" at the University of Virginia (UVA), after the Ivy League school's chairman James Ryan resigned amid pressure from the Trump administration to dismantle the university's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. "Jim Ryan has built his entire career on what was the academic vogue which is DEI. Now it isn't. So I think it is time for new leadership that's willing to comply with federal law," justice department assistant attorney general Harmeet Dhillon told CNN "I don't have any confidence that he was going to be willing and able to preside over the DEI dismantling," Dhillon added. The New York Times was the first to report Ryan's resignation and the significant pressure he was facing from both the DOJ and conservative groups. The justice department has been reviewing UVA's compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bans institution receiving federals funds from discriminating based on race, colour and national origin. Dhillon, the DOJ assistant attorney general, revealed that it sent a letter three months ago, asking Virginia University to confirm its compliance with the United States Supreme Court's landmark June 23 ruling outlawing race as a factor in college admissions. "But officials repeatedly asked for extensions and have not yet provided the confirmation," she said to CNN's Jake Tapper. Ryan, the eighth UVA president who has held the post since 2018, resigned on Friday. He called it an "excruciatingly difficult decision" made with a "very heavy heart." "To make a long story short, I am inclined to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply in this University. But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job. To do so would not only be quixotic but appear selfish and self-centered to the hundreds of employees who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld," the letter read.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
US university leader resigns amid pressure over diversity programs
The head of a prestigious US public university resigned Friday amid pressure over his alleged failure to curb diversity programs, the latest salvo in the Trump administration's war on academia. The Department of Justice had privately pressured the University of Virginia to fire its president to help resolve a probe of its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, according to the New York Times, which broke the story late Thursday. It had reportedly threatened to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding. "I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job," UVA President Jim Ryan said in a statement Friday. Ryan wrote that risking federal funding cuts by staying in his role "would not only be quixotic but appear selfish and self-centered to the hundreds of employees who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld." Ryan took the helm of the elite University of Virginia in 2018, a year after white supremacists marched with flaming torches through its campus amid heated debate over the removal of some Confederate monuments in southern states. Ryan's efforts to make the school more diverse and increase the number of first-generation university students reportedly rankled some conservative alumni. "It is outrageous that officials in the Trump Department of Justice demanded the Commonwealth's globally recognized university remove President Ryan -- a strong leader who has served UVA honorably and moved the university forward -- over ridiculous 'culture war' traps," Virginia's two Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, said in statement. Trump is attacking US universities and other sources of what he sees as left-leaning power in the country as he moves to exert unprecedented presidential control over life in America. A top area of conflict has been "diversity, equity and inclusion," or DEI, programs that sought to correct historic demographic inequity in admissions and funding, but have been criticized as unfair to otherwise well-qualified candidates. Trump notably piled pressure on Harvard University, seeking to ban it from having foreign students, slashing more than $3 billion in grants and contracts, and challenging its tax-free status. Some observers said Friday's developments were an alarming sign for public universities, which are particularly reliant on state and federal funding. "Ryan's resignation portends a future in which all public university presidents must conform to the political views of their state's leadership or be kicked out of office," wrote Inside Higher Ed, an online publication about education. ksb/sla
TechCrunch
9 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Katie Haun makes the case for tokenizing more of the world
Katie Haun, founder of Haun Ventures, is a leading voice at the intersection of crypto, policy, and venture capital and will share what it takes to invest with conviction in volatile, high-stakes markets. From her DOJ roots to building a $1.5B+ firm, Katie offers a rare, inside look at navigating regulatory headwinds, backing bold founders, and building trust with LPs across cycles. Haun joined us at our StrictlyVC Menlo Park event in June 2025, among several other speakers whose discussions you can find here.
Fox News
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump admin reaffirms Abrego Garcia won't go free in the US: 'Horrific crimes'
Print Close By Cameron Arcand Published June 27, 2025 Top Trump administration officials maintain that Kilmar Abrego Garcia will continue to go through the legal system in the United States before he is deported again, as the administration maintains he will not walk free in the U.S. Abrego Garcia's lawyers successfully asked the judge on Friday to keep him behind bars to avoid any possibility of an immediate deportation, according to NewsNation. However, the plan is to try Abrego Garcia in the U.S. on the Tennessee-based human smuggling charges before deporting him, according to the Department of Justice. And if he is convicted, the White House says he will spend time behind bars in the U.S. before being deported. JUDGE SETS STRICT CONDITIONS FOR ABREGO GARCIA'S RELEASE AS TRUMP OFFICIALS PURSUE CASE AGAINST HIM "This defendant has been charged with horrific crimes including trafficking children and will not walk free in our country again," DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin told Fox News Digital in an email. The White House further clarified the Executive Branch's stance following an Associated Press report on the comments from federal prosecutors about possibly deporting him to a third country sooner. "This is fake news. Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States to face trial for the egregious charges against him. He will face the full force of the American justice system - including serving time in American prison for the crimes he's committed," White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said in an X post. RETURNED SALVADORAN MIGRANT KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA ARRAIGNED ON FEDERAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING CHARGES IN TENNESSEE DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the 29-year-old will not be freed in the U.S. at any point. "Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a dangerous criminal illegal alien. We have said it for months and it remains true to this day: he will never go free on American soil," she wrote. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Abrego Garcia, who was living in Maryland, was deported to El Salvador amid accusations of being an MS-13 gang member, as it is a designated foreign terrorist organization. He then spent time detained at the country's terrorism confinement center. While detained in the country, it sparked a political firestorm in which Democrats raised concerns about due process, with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-M.D., even meeting with him in the Central American nation. During his El Salvador detainment, past records alleging domestic abuse surfaced, as well as reports that he allegedly had taken part in human smuggling, which ultimately led to the federal charges brought forth earlier this month that resulted in his return to American custody. DEMOCRATS CELEBRATE RETURN OF SUSPECTED HUMAN TRAFFICKER KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA "Abrego Garcia has landed in the United States to face justice," Attorney General Pam Bondi said at the time. "A grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee returned a sealed indictment charging him with alien smuggling and conspiracy." However, critics blasted the charges as a political move. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "After weeks of the Trump administration saying they either couldn't or wouldn't return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US, the timing of these charges are clearly designed to cover up their negligence and the fact that the Supreme Court unanimously called them out on the egregious ways they are ignoring due process," the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition said in a statement at the time. "Still, Mr. Abrego Garcia will now be able to have his day in court, which The Constitution guarantees for everyone in our country regardless of citizenship." Print Close URL
Hindustan Times
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Jim Ryan resigns: Who is Gregory W Brown, UVA alum behind president's ouster?
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan has resigned amid pressure from the Trump administration, The New York Times reported on Friday. This comes days after the media outlet reported that the administration was pushing UVA to part ways with Ryan while the Justice Department investigates the school for its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Jim Ryan reportedly resigned under pressure from UVA alum Gregory W Brown(UVA and X) Neither UVA nor Jim Ryan has issued a formal statement yet. Now, reports say that the demand for the executive's resignation came from a university alum - Gregory W Brown, who is a civil rights attorney and works in the Donald Trump administration under Harmeet K. Dhillon. Gregory W Brown, a 1989 UVA undergraduate alumnus, is a civil rights attorney and partner at Brown & Gavalier, a Charlottesville-based law firm. He holds a law degree, though the institution is not known yet. Brown joined the Trump administration's DOJ in 2025, serving under Harmeet K. Dhillon, another UVA Law alum (1993) and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. Before his DOJ role, Brown represented two UVA students in high-profile lawsuits against the university, both settled out of court. In 2024, he represented Matan Goldstein, an Israeli-American freshman, who alleged antisemitic harassment by UVA officials and pro-Palestinian groups, naming Ryan and others as defendants. He also represented Morgan Bettinger, a 2021 alumna accused of mocking a Black Women Matter protest, facing expulsion until UVA's investigation found insufficient evidence. Meanwhile, the Trump administration, via a February 2025 executive order, mandated universities to dismantle DEI programs, threatening federal funding cuts. UVA's Board of Visitors voted in March 2025 to dissolve its DEI office, but the DOJ, led by Brown and Dhillon, accused Ryan of 'slow-walking' compliance by rebranding programs. According to NYT, Brown personally demanded Ryan's resignation multiple times over the past month, telling UVA officials that the president's removal was a condition to resolve the DOJ's investigation.
