Trump signs executive order demanding transparency from colleges receiving billions in foreign money

WASHINGTON — President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to toughen disclosure requirements for colleges that receive foreign funding, demanding top universities be more transparent about the billions of dollars they rake in from other countries.

Elite American schools have pocketed some $60 billion in foreign cash in recent years, according to a government watchdog group. Trump’s new order threatens to pull federal aid from those that fail to disclose the foreign gifts.

Universities are currently supposed to reveal foreign gifts and contracts topping $250,000, but the law hasn’t been well enforced, according to White House staffers.

“There are currently laws on the books requiring certain disclosures of universities when they accept large foreign gifts,” White House staff secretary Will Scharf told Trump as he presented the document for his signature in the Oval Office.

“We believe that certain universities, including, for example, Harvard, have routinely violated this law, and this law has not been effectively enforced. So this executive order charges your departments and agencies with enforcing the laws on the books with respect to foreign gifts to American universities.”

At least $60 billion in foreign funds have flowed to American universities in recent decades, according to a report from the group Americans for Public Trust published this month.

Much of the haul went to elite schools like Harvard ($3.2 billion), Cornell ($2.8 billion), Carnegie Mellon ($2.8 billion) and the University of Pennsylvania ($2.5 billion).

Major foreign sources of funds include oil-rich Arab states and China.

“For far too long, foreign funds have flowed to US colleges and universities with inadequate transparency or oversight,” states a White House document describing the order, which was first reported by Politico.

“Undisclosed foreign funding raises serious concerns about potential foreign influence, national security risks, and compromised academic integrity.”

The order requires Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take action to reverse Biden administration actions “that allow universities to obscure details regarding their foreign funding.”

Trump’s order comes after he paused more than $2 billion in federal grants to Harvard in a standoff over demands for reforms to combat alleged antisemitism and overhaul admissions policies.

Trump signed several other orders Wednesday pertaining to education, including requiring a review of college accreditation to prioritize merit and allowing schools more leeway to discipline students.