Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday ordered the cancellation of military attendance at several of the nation’s top-ranked colleges and universities beginning in the 2026-27 academic year, arguing that some of America’s most prestigious institutions are pushing what he called the “enemy’s wicked ideologies” onto U.S. service members.
Hegseth, who completed postgraduate studies at Harvard University, said the directive would impact schools including Princeton University, Columbia University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University and Yale University, among others.
In a video posted to X, Hegseth made clear that the Pentagon is drawing a line.
“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.”
The defense secretary argued that taxpayer dollars and military partnerships should be tied to institutions that reinforce national priorities, not undermine them.
“We demand universities that invest back into our nation’s prosperity rather than our greatest adversaries,” Hegseth said in the four-minute clip. “It’s common sense.”
Earlier this month, Hegseth announced that the Pentagon would sever all academic ties with Harvard starting in the 2026-27 school year, contending that the nation’s oldest university has become “one of the red-hot centers of hate-America activism.”
Friday’s broader directive marks another significant step in what has become a sustained effort by Hegseth to challenge the direction of elite academia since taking the helm at the Pentagon. The move signals a wider review of how the military engages with civilian institutions that provide advanced education to service members.
Hegseth also revealed that he is initiating a formal “top to bottom” review of U.S. war colleges to ensure they return to their core mission.
“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,” he said.
War colleges provide professional military education to high-ranking officers, Pentagon civilians and international partners. Their curriculum typically focuses on joint operations, national security strategy and high-level defense planning. Hegseth’s review will examine whether those institutions are staying true to that focus.
“We’re going to hold ourselves accountable as well,” he said, indicating that the Pentagon’s internal institutions will also face scrutiny.
In a pointed message directed at members of the armed forces, Hegseth addressed what he suggested is a cultural divide between elite academia and the military.
“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.
The directive represents a major shift in how the Pentagon interacts with some of the country’s most prominent universities and underscores Hegseth’s insistence that military education remain squarely focused on national defense, strategic strength and American interests first.
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