Conservative lawmakers and activists are set to capitalize on the resignations of Harvard President Claudine Gay and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill to push for more changes at the federal and state level to reverse what they see as the progressive takeover of American education.
"There's a window of opportunity that has opened, and we're going to be sure it doesn't close," Michael Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told The Wall Street Journal in a story published Friday.
Gay, the fist Black president of Harvard, resigned Tuesday following her testimony last month in front of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce regarding on-campus antisemitism and because of plagiarism allegations. Magill resigned last month primarily because of her testimony at the same hearing, when she and Gay answered "it depends on the context" when asked if violent threats against Jews violated their universities' code of conduct.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, told the Journal she and her colleagues will be pursuing policy initiatives to counter the "hostile takeover of postsecondary education by political activists, woke faculty and partisan administrators."
The Heritage Foundation is preparing draft legislation for state lawmakers that would scale back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at state-funded universities, the Journal reported. It also is pushing for a review of academic programs to scrutinize subjects such as gender studies and others that emphasize "ethnic grievances."
"We're going to make sure that in the state legislature sessions beginning right now, that we're able to have an exchange with them over a robust, powerful policy agenda," Gonzalez said.
It is not known whether diversity in education will resonate with voters in this year's election. Republican pollster Christine Matthews told the Journal attacks on DEI programs can be effective if they are shown to prevent schools from preparing students for the workplace, cities from paving roads or companies from serving customers. But she said broader efforts to influence institutions can repel voters.
Dave Winston, a veteran GOP strategist, told the Journal the voters who matter most in elections — independents — are focused on the economy and not DEI and other cultural issues.
"If you're not talking about the economy, you're not talking to the people who will decide the election," he said. "You're not talking about the issue they are going to decide on."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.