In the midst of the Trump administration dispute with Harvard University, the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, said he wants the school to come to negotiate with the White House.
“I would love that Harvard returns to the table to negotiate with us,” McMahon said exclusively to ABC News on Wednesday. “Your answer [to the administration’s demands] It was a demand, but we will continue talking if they want to speak. “
Leaving the policy and priorities hearing in Capitol Hill, McMahon said the administration has actively communicated with Harvard and said that the school has fulfilled some of its orders to end discrimination, including the alleged anti -Semitic activity.
Harvard has taken measures to address the alleged anti-Semitism, including the emission of guidance that clarifies its non-discrimination and anti-bullying (NDAB) policies. The school has improved and expanded educational training sessions on anti -Semitism through the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning.
McMahon said Harvard has a continuous lawsuit, so negotiations remain in court.
McMahon faced a flood of questions about his mission of closing the Department of Education during the grid of more than three hours before the Education and Labor Force Committee of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, but throughout the hearing, he defended the efforts of the department to combat anti -Semitism.
“In fact, I think we drive them,” said McMahon, a Harvard student, Elise Stefanik, RN.y., claiming that the alleged crisis in Harvard has been slowly dissipated with the help of the administration pressure campaign.
“When we started to put our teeth in what we were doing, they finally said it is fine, we are going to make some changes and did it shortly after our investigations.”
The Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, speaks with ABC News after testifying before a committee of the Chamber of Education and Audience of the workforce, June 4, 2025, in Capitol Hill in Washington.
ABC News
The conflict between the Trump and Harvard administration is derived from the joint work group of multiple agencies on anti -Semitism, which froze more than $ 2 billion in federal funds of the institution. After Harvard refused to meet the demands of the administration, claiming that Trump had abused his executive authority, the saga became several more movements by the administration,
This has included new research grants, investigate the review of Harvard’s law for alleged discrimination and try to prohibit international students from international students.
During his testimony on Wednesday, McMahon said that anti-Semitism is a violation of civil rights under the anti-discrimination law of Title VI, which makes the distinction that pro-palestinian demonstrations are not a problem of the first amendment.
She said that Jewish students are afraid of being on the Harvard campus and that the administration is working to provide them with a “safe environment.”
“We want to make sure that students who attend these elite universities feel safe on campus when they are there and that there are no acts of anti -Semitism or discrimination in any way,” said McMahon.
