As noted by Daniel Greenfield at FrontPage Magazine, the Trump administration’s 2018 higher education budget defunds “Title VI from $72 million to zero.” Given the anti-Western, pro-Islamist bias afflicting Title VI-funded Middle East studies centers, which, ironically, were intended to strengthen national security, this is a welcome development. It’s an affirmation of the ongoing campaign initiated in 2014 by the Middle East Forum and a coalition of partners to ensure that such centers offer the “wide range of views” required by a 2008 amendment or face reduced funding. It is now up to Congress to implement Trump’s budget and the likelihood of eliminating Title VI funding is slim, but it’s a conversation that’s long overdue in the nation’s capital.
