Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are arguing over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s decision to cut 93 military fellowships at Harvard and Princeton, and replace them with fellowships at religious universities, Hillsdale and Liberty.
Hegseth, who holds degrees from both Harvard and Princeton, said the new schools were selected for their “intellectual freedom” and limited ties to foreign adversaries.
Hegseth said: “For decades, the Ivy League and similar institutions have gorged themselves on a trust fund of American taxpayer dollars, only to become factories of anti-American resentment and military disdain.” He added, “They’ve replaced the study of victory and pragmatic realism with the promotion of wokeness and weakness.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) responded: “Pete Hegseth has cut ALL educational funds for active-duty service members at Harvard and Princeton (despite him attending these schools) in favor of Christian-affiliated colleges. Our service members deserve the support they need to finish their studies, regardless of which school they attend or their religious beliefs. I’m again calling for Hegseth’s resignation on the grounds of limiting academic freedom and disregarding the separation of Church and State.”
Pete Hegseth has cut ALL educational funds for active-duty service members at Harvard and Princeton (despite him attending these schools) in favor of Christian-affiliated colleges.
Our service members deserve the support they need to finish their studies, regardless of which… https://t.co/6Rg64GD4CN
— Mike Quigley (@RepMikeQuigley) April 9, 2026
MAGA supporters in the comments on X praised Hegseth’s move, with some dubiously calling the Ivy League schools that educated uber-capitalists like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg “anti-American communist breeding grounds.”
Hegseth’s critics, including journalist Nancy Levine Stearns, assert that “Hegseth is installing a fascist Christian theocracy.” Commenters following this trail noted that Hegseth recently invited his pastor to the Pentagon to lead a prayer service.
Hegseth is installing a fascist Christian theocracy https://t.co/9sWxf3R8MC pic.twitter.com/l55eFvKrBO
— Nancy Levine Stearns (@nancylevine) April 9, 2026
Quigley’s colleague in the House, U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) replied to Quigley: “Did it ever occur to you that the reason @SecWar cut the funding to these schools is because he went that [sic] and saw how corrupt they are? Stow it.”
Did it ever occur to you that the reason @SecWar cut the funding to these schools is because he went that and saw how corrupt they are?
Stow it.
— Derrick Van Orden (@derrickvanorden) April 10, 2026
[NOTE: Orden earned a degree from Excelsior University, a Regents college; Quigley earned degrees from Roosevelt University, the University of Chicago, and his JD from Loyola University Chicago, a Catholic school.]