Pentagon Bars Troops From Ivy League, Citing 'Wokeness'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth barred military attendance at Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Yale, MIT and others and ordered education reviews, saying elite schools undermine military values.
FOX NewsHegseth bans military from attending Princeton, Columbia, other elite universities: 'Wokeness and weakness'
Associated PressPentagon to cut ties with Columbia, Yale, Brown and others Hegseth accuses of 'wokeness'
CBS NewsHegseth says Pentagon cutting ties with top universities, calling them "woke breeding grounds"
NewsmaxHegseth Halts War Department Study at Elite Schools
Just the NewsHegseth pulls troop attendance at more top-ranked schools over social justice issues
Overview
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Pentagon will forbid military members from attending Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Yale, MIT and other elite universities beginning in the 2026027 academic year.
Hegseth said the schools are "factories of anti-American resentment" and "woke breeding grounds" that undermine military values and replace the study of victory with "wokeness and weakness."
Hegseth said he would begin a "top-to-bottom review" of U.S. war colleges, and the announcement did not provide detailed implementation guidance.
As of the announcement, Pentagon listings still showed Columbia, Brown, MIT and Harvard as eligible for Tuition Assistance, and Pentagon data show Harvard had 39 participants in 2023, Columbia nine and MIT two.
It is unclear how broadly the ban will be applied to fellowships, certificate programs or ROTC and how many officers will be affected, the announcement said.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources say the reporting is neutral; they present Hegseth's charged language as source content while adding verification notes, data and institutional context. The coverage balances quotes with factual details (tuition assistance listings, participant numbers), opposing actions, and legal context, avoiding unqualified editorial adoption of partisan claims.
FAQ
Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Yale, MIT, and other elite universities.
The ban begins in the 2026-2027 academic year.
Hegseth described the schools as 'factories of anti-American resentment' and 'woke breeding grounds' that undermine military values by replacing the study of victory with 'wokeness and weakness.'
Hegseth ordered a 'top-to-bottom review' of U.S. war colleges.
Hegseth is a Princeton University graduate (2003), former Army National Guard infantry officer with deployments to Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and current Secretary of Defense sworn in on January 25, 2025.