On Jan. 28, 2025, DOGE chairman Elon Musk, under the oversight of President Trump, sent “special government employees” to the headquarters of the Department of Education to “cut public debt.” However, instead of sending out financial auditors, forensic accountants, or public finance specialists to cut spending, Musk dispatched software engineers, sparking debates in Congress over whether or not software engineers should supersede financial auditors on public finance issues.
Soon, reports confirmed that DOGE was collecting data on Americans, breaching the Privacy Act of 1974, and planning to cut spending from congressionally-allocated funds it had no legal jurisdiction over.
All the while, on Jan. 19, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order mandating that all schools and universities with “DEI Ideology” and “Gender Ideology” lose all of their federal funding. Trump also posted on Truth Social that “all Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came,” implying he would cut funding, and deport students using ICE if he didn’t personally consider their protests legal.
Trump’s comments spurred debates over what he considers illegal, and whether or not the president should have the power to revoke without due process the constitutional rights of green card- and visa-holding student protestors and to withdraw federal funding from important institutions for ideological reasons.
Approximately three weeks later, on Feb. 14, 2025, the Department of Education sent a message to schools and universities around the country, demanding the elimination of all DEI programs by Feb. 28, 2025. Those who didn’t comply with the executive branch’s decree would lose federal funding.
These acts of co-optation are arguably illegal uses of executive power as laid out in article 1 section 9 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that the executive cannot block or remove funding allocated by Congress. In addition, these acts potentially violate the First Amendment, exemplified by the Supreme Court case, NRA v. Vullo (2024) which established that institutions cannot be financially penalized on ideological grounds by public officials, guaranteeing freedom of expression for NGOs.
Furthermore, lawmakers argued that these decisions violated the First Amendment again by attacking students’ right to protest peacefully in disagreement with their government. However, even in their questionable legality, these executive orders still raised concerns amongst students and professors at Moravian about whether their funding will be cut off or not.
Moravian University relies on federal funding for grants, loans, and research, making it very important for the university’s function. Therefore, Robert Breckinridge, the Executive Director for Foundation and Government Relations, said that he will make the case for the positive outcomes that result from federal funding. Below is our edited conversation with Breckinridge about Moravian University’s federal funding prospects. It took place near the end of February.
What is your role in the University?
My primary responsibility is to help faculty find grants for the things we are looking for funding for. Once we find an appropriate one, I will write the grants and look for those who need help. I help prepare the budgets for the grants and put together all the necessary information to submit the grants. The Assistant Director in the Grants Office helps to administer grants after they are received, including managing the budgets, approving expenditures, and helping with reports.
Are any of the recent executive orders impacting Moravian’s funding?
Difficult question. It is possible, but an executive order shouldn’t change the law, and we are following the law under Congress. Could an order have an impact on us? I can’t say they won’t, but we are focused on what the current law says, and what Congress’ priorities are. We are uncertain.
Has Moravian University lost any funding?
We have not seen any decrease in funding as of today.
Why is federal funding important for Moravian Education?
It is important for Moravian because federal funding to the school either provides undergraduate research opportunities, or is a combination of scholarships and programs that help students work through their degree programs. It is very student focused, none of the money is wasted, and students are paid to do the research. Moravian is not wealthy enough to just have another pot of money to do this kind of work. We have the money for undergrad research, but federal grants have expanded this so much and allow us to give students experiences and opportunities that wouldn’t be attainable.
What departments will be affected the most by this?
The Biology and Math departments will be most affected.
Could you give examples of the success of these grants?
Most of the success involves research by several undergraduate students. In the Biology department, students have been allowed to participate in research more on campus and off campus, both here at Moravian and abroad. To be providing students with those kinds of hands-on experiences that otherwise wouldn’t be attainable has results that speak for themselves.
How is Moravian University going to handle the following years given that schools and universities are under more pressure in this new political environment?
We are not going to violate federal law, and we will make sure we are doing what is best for the institution and the students. Part of the challenge right now is defining what everything looks like.
In sum, we have not lost any federal funding. However, there is a large degree of concern and uncertainty over what comes next. Furthermore, departments relating to biology and mathematics will be hit the hardest if we do face a loss in federal funding.
