Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the Department of Defense will cancel all military attendance at a group of elite universities beginning with the 2026–27 academic year, as part of a broader reshaping of military education policy, Defense Department officials said.
In a video posted on social media, Hegseth said the policy would apply to institutions that have traditionally hosted U.S. military officers for graduate and professional education, including Princeton University, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brown University and Yale University.
“Today, just like we did with Harvard, I am ordering the complete and immediate cancellation of all Department of War attendance at institutions like Princeton, Columbia, MIT, Brown, Yale and many others, starting next academic year, 2026-2027,” Hegseth said.
“We cannot and will not continue to send our most capable officers, senior officers, into graduate programs that undermine the very values they have sworn to uphold,” he added.
Hegseth also called for a comprehensive review of military academic programs, saying service colleges should focus more directly on national security issues and “real-world war-fighting” rather than what he described as social or ideological concerns.
“We demand that senior service colleges work to sharpen our war fighters on genuine national security issues, not social justice activism,” he said.
“We demand curriculums grounded in the founding principles of this republic, principles that champion the enduring ideals of peace through strength and putting American interests first.”
He then extended his criticism to the broader academic community. “We demand universities that invest back into our nation’s prosperity rather than our greatest adversaries,” the Pentagon chief said. “It’s common sense.”
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The shift marks a significant change in how the Pentagon engages with civilian higher education institutions for officer training and professional development, a relationship that has long been part of the U.S. military’s career education pipeline.
Hegseth also said he would direct a formal “top to bottom” review of U.S. colleges to ensure they are “once again bastions of strategic thought, wholly dedicated to the singular mission of developing the most lethal and effective leaders and war fighters the world has ever known.”
“We’re going to hold ourselves accountable as well,” he said.
Hegseth ended with a clear message to service members, highlighting their mission in contrast to the skepticism expressed by academic elites.
“As a final message to our warriors, the Ivy League faculty lounges may loathe you, the so-called elite of academia may mock your patriotism and disdain your sacrifice, but never forget that we the War Department have your back,” he said.
Hegseth’s announcement comes as President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military to strike targets in Iran after weeks of talks failed to produce an agreement regarding Tehran’s nuclear weapons development.
In a video posted to social media, Trump encouraged the Iranian people to take over their government once the United States and Israel finished “major combat operations” in Iran, marking a dramatic escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The U.S. and Israel launched the joint attack just after 9 a.m. local time in what the War Department has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
Trump addressed the Iranian people directly and told them to “seize control of [their] destiny.”
“The hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” Trump said. “This will be, probably, your only chance for generations. For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No President was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a President who is giving you what you want.”
