Trump Education Sec. Says Universities Should ‘Be Able to Do Research’ if They Go Along With ‘What the Administration Is Trying to Accomplish’

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon defended the Trump administration’s ongoing war on higher education on Wednesday, saying universities should be able to conduct research, provided they are abiding by the administration’s goals.

McMahon, who is in the unusual position of leading a department that her boss is seeking to eliminate, appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box, where co-host Joe Kernen asked her about the administration’s specific approach to Harvard University. The administration is threatening to pull some $9 billion in federal research funding from the school after attempting to prohibit it from enrolling international students.

“I know Harvard is kind of an easy target, probably in a lot of parts of the country,” Kernen told McMahon. “But there are some great things that come out of Harvard and have come out of Harvard. And I’m just wondering if that’s taken into account with some of these actions that almost seem punitive and not really related to what the initial intention was for what to do with Harvard?”

The secretary responded by questioning whether it’s appropriate for Harvard to receive $9 billion for research.

“And universities should continue to be able to do research as long as they’re abiding by the laws and are in sync, I think, with the administration and what the administration is trying to accomplish, but primarily abiding by the laws,” she continued, and claimed Harvard isn’t doing enough combat alleged anti-Semitism on campus.

According to a survey conducted among Harvard students last year, 15% of Jewish students said they did not feel physically safe on campus. Meanwhile, 47% of Muslim respondents said they do not feel safe. Sixty-one percent of Jewish students reported fearing academic or professional repercussions for expressing their political views. Ninety-two percent of Muslim students felt similarly.

Shortly after McMahon’s CNBC hit, Trump boasted to reporters that Harvard is “getting their ass kicked.”

Watch above via CNBC.