Following a CNN report that universities are quietly negotiating with the White House to avoid funding cuts and bans on international students, University spokesperson Luisa Rapport wrote to The Daily that “There are no special negotiations taking place beyond our usual communications.”
She added that “Stanford works with every administration, including the current one, and is in regular communication with Congress and the executive branch.”
An unidentified White House source told CNN that universities have recently been communicating with aide Stephen Miller, a deputy to Trump, to avoid the same aggressive targeting that Harvard has faced.
The source told CNN that the government is looking for a “name-brand university to make a deal…that covers not just antisemitism and protests, but DEI and intellectual diversity,” in exchange for protection.
The report followed several statements by government officials suggesting growing attention from the White House toward colleges and universities on the West Coast, including Stanford.
Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at DOJ, tweeted on Wednesday that “If Stanford University were a stock, it would be time to short it.”
Leo Herrel, a senior Justice Department official leading a task force on antisemitism, said in a Fox News interview last Tuesday that “massive lawsuits against the UC system” were forthcoming.
“We have been, and plan to continue, cooperating with the Administration,” Rachel Zaentz, a spokesperson for the University of California, told CNN.
The Trump administration’s halt on Harvard’s ability to enroll international students has raised concerns among faculty and students about similar actions targeting Stanford.
The U.S. State Department recently halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for international students and announced that it would begin revoking the visas of Chinese students.
Rapport wrote that while the implications of these developments “are not yet clear,” the University is “concerned for students who have great potential to contribute to this country and the world, and whose visa status may be at risk.”