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Connecticut Democratic lawmakers warned that Yale University’s tax-exempt status is at risk if it decides to make a deal with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve its investigations into the Ivy League school.
University President Maurie McInnis last week said publicly that the school was speaking with the DOJ after it accused the Yale School of Medicine of race-based discrimination in its admissions by allegedly favoring Black and Hispanic applicants over white and Asian applicants with the same test scores.
Eight state representatives, all Democrats, last Thursday called on McInnis to, “in the strongest possible terms, make no deal with the DOJ” in a letter to her.
“We understand that you are in a difficult position and empathize with your desire to quickly end this shakedown,” the eight Democrats wrote. “But capitulating now would constitute a serious abandonment of Yale’s values, be a severe strategic miscalculation, and could jeopardize Yale’s relationship with the State of Connecticut –– including state-granted privileges the University has long taken for granted.”
“To be clear: If you stand up for yourself, we will stand with you and support you in every way we can,” the letter continues. “Yale has the resources and legal position to fight and win. We urge you to do so –– for the sake of your students, your faculty, the rule of law, and the values this University has always claimed to hold, and for so many embodied.”
Democratic state Reps. Matt Blumenthal, Steve Winter, Roland Lemar, Patricia Dillon, John Michael Parker, Jonathan Steinberg and state Sens. Saud Anwar and Herron Gaston signed the letter.
The Hill has reached out to Yale for comment.
The DOJ’s investigation into the New Haven, Conn.-based university pointed to school documents indicating that its leadership intentionally chose applicants based on race and used “racial proxies” to circumvent a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that prohibited race-based admissions.
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in a letter that Yale used “holistic metrics” for admissions that included “race” and “national origin.”
“Yale uses its holistic-review procedure to uncover and then use applicants’ race through direct and indirect means,” Dhillon wrote. “It then conducts interviews that enable the committee to know applicants’ race and ethnicity. Race preferences elevate Black and Hispanic applicants in the admissions process.”
The Trump administration has cracked down on higher education since President Trump’s return to the White House last year and following massive protests across university campuses against Israel’s war in Gaza.
On Monday, the DOJ announced that it is investigating Harvard University for allegedly excluding some students who are U.S. citizens from financial aid.
University spokesperson Jason Newton previously told The Hill that Harvard “follows the law for required reporting of donations and, consistent with our legal obligations under Title VI, does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin in allocating financial aid.”
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