"US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that the Pentagon will sever its ties with Ivy League institutions starting from the 2026-2027 academic year. "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," Hegseth asserted in a recorded speech published on X. The secretary accused the establishments of spreading 'leftist ideology' and undermining Washington's 'peace through strength' principle. "No longer will we sit back and treat these woke breeding grounds of toxic indoctrination as valid centers of so-called intellectual curiosity," Hegseth continued. "We cannot and will not continue to send our most capable officers, senior officers, into graduate programmes that undermine the very values they have sworn to uphold." "Just like we did with Harvard, I'm 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," he concluded. Earlier in February, Hegseth announced the War Department's discontinuation of military training, fellowships and programmes with Harvard University. The move has added to escalating tensions between the Trump administration and Ivy League universities over diversity programmes, transgender policies, and pro-Palestinian protests linked to Israel's actions in Gaza."