US universities issue letter condemning Trump's 'political interference'

More than 100 US universities and colleges, including Ivy League institutions Princeton and Brown, issued a joint letter on Tuesday condemning President Donald Trump's "political interference" in the education system.

The move comes a day after Harvard University sued the Trump administration, which has threatened to cut funding and impose outside political supervision.

"We speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education," the letter read.


"We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion," it said, adding: "We must reject the coercive use of public research funding."

Trump has sought to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus anti-Semitism, threatening their budgets, tax-exempt status and the enrolment of foreign students.

Several top institutions, including Columbia University, have bowed to demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing.

In the case of Harvard, the White House is seeking unprecedented levels of government control over the inner workings of the country's oldest and wealthiest university.