1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

The Trump administration's demands on private universities like Harvard represent a clear, unquestionable violation of First Amendment rights. Threatening to withhold federal funding as leverage against free speech is a blatant overreach of executive power and disregard for constitutional protections. This misguided tactic to stifle dissenting voices must not stand. I urge you to take immediate action to unfreeze all federal funding to private academic institutions and reaffirm the government's commitment to upholding free speech and expression on campuses nationwide. Allowing this precedent would enable further erosion of civil liberties in the name of partisan interests. As elected representatives, you have a duty to safeguard democratic principles and check any authoritarian impulses. A robust exchange of ideas is vital for an informed citizenry and a healthy democracy. I implore you to defend the First Amendment rights of private universities against this administration's overreach.