Faulty reasoning signals

• Indoctrination - 34%
• Hasty Generalization - 26.5%
• Begging the Question - 23.6%

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U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon warned Harvard that she will drop the “hammer” on the Ivy League university if it fails to stop Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives that violate federal law.

“Having always the hammer — if you will — of investigation, of losing federal funding for research and programs, as well as having lawsuits potentially brought by the Department of Justice are certainly things that they bear in mind as well,” McMahon told Miranda Devine during Wednesday’s episode of Pod Force One .

As Breitbart News previously reported , President Donald Trump issued an executive order to eliminate DEI at universities shortly after taking office in January last year.

The Department of Education also launched investigations into Harvard over alleged antisemitism on campus and its use of race-based admissions policies. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice sued the Ivy League school, accusing it of withholding data related to those admissions.

Nonetheless, McMahon is still warning that she will enact additional probes to hold Harvard accountable.

“Parents and students across America are relieved we have a leader like Secretary Linda McMahon who won’t back down,” PragerU CEO Marissa Streit told Breitbart News. “President Trump believed when he nominated her she has the courage and the voice to stand up for America’s students, and he was right.”

“Secretary McMahon’s warning this week is further proof she is exactly the kind of person students need who will confront the discriminatory practices Harvard and other institutions have implemented. She has demonstrated she is willing to do what is right for our kids — even if it doesn’t make her popular,” Streit continued.

“Families want to know what their leaders stand for. We want to see more conviction like Secretary McMahon’s. We want to see leaders willing to fight,” the PragerU CEO added.

In May 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) pulled $2.2 billion in federal grants from Harvard, saying the school failed to comply with non-discrimination laws. A judge later ordered that the funding be restored — a move the Trump administration appealed.

“It is not the goal or the desire of the federal government to take away that funding, because our research universities provide unbelievable amount of very effective and good research and invention for the country,” McMahon told Devine.

“So, we want to make sure that that research can continue, but they just need to know that they’re going to have to operate within the confines of the law, to do that,” the Education Secretary added.

Other schools, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have since shut down their DEI offices.

“It is my sincere hope that many of them have seen the error in doing that,” McMahon said of DEI initiatives.

“What we have seen as a result of a lot of the action that we have taken is there have been civics institutes set up on many of the campuses where civics is taught, history of our country is taught, and less of the ideology,” she added.

“However,” McMahon said. “If I’m looking at it objectively, I would bet that there are many who have just changed the name and maybe given it enough window dressing to pass muster for the time being.”

Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo , and on Instagram .