Sen. Mark Warner: If White House can pressure UVA, "they can do it anywhere"

Warner: Bill is "albatross" for GOP

Sen. Mark Warner says Trump's taxation measure volition beryllium a "political albatross" for Republicans 10:10

Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, connected Sunday condemned what helium described arsenic an "outrageous" unit run by the Trump medication amid a national probe into the University of Virginia, which led to the resignation of its president, Jim Ryan.

"This is the astir outrageous action, I think, this assemblage has taken connected education," Warner told "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." "We person large nationalist universities successful Virginia. We person a precise beardown governance system, wherever we person an autarkic committee of visitors appointed by the Governor. Jim Ryan had done a precise bully job; conscionable completed a large superior campaign."

Ryan announced Friday that helium would beryllium submitting his resignation. Sources acquainted with the substance told CBS News that his resignation was submitted to resoluteness Trump medication demands related to a national investigation into the school's efforts to beforehand diversity, equity and inclusions.

"For him to beryllium threatened, and literally, determination was denotation that they received the missive that if helium didn't resign connected a time past week, by 5 o'clock, each these cuts would instrumentality place," Warner said Sunday. 

When asked if the menace was explicit, Warner said, "It was that explicit."

Warner described the unit arsenic idiosyncratic alternatively than policy-driven.

"You're shocked it's coming- idiosyncratic attacks are coming retired of this administration?" helium asked. "This national D.O.E. and Department of Justice should get their chemoreceptor retired of University of Virginia. They are doing harm to our flagship university. And if they tin bash it here, they'll bash it elsewhere."

In his resignation letter, Ryan warned of the imaginable risks of resisting the administration's demands.  "Hundreds of employees would suffer jobs, researchers would suffer funding, and hundreds of students could suffer fiscal assistance oregon person their visas withheld," Ryan wrote. 

His resignation came amid an probe that targeted DEI efforts crossed aggregate universities, with UVA's president coming nether aggravated scrutiny from the Department of Education and Department of Justice, according to CBS News reporting.

Warner acknowledged the hard prime Ryan faced.

"At the extremity of the day, I recognize that, with truthful galore things astatine stake, that the idea, and I deliberation Jim Ryan laid it out, that helium was going to marque his idiosyncratic occupation much important than these cuts. But, boy, that shouldn't person been the choice."

Warner besides warned that different nationalist universities could look akin scrutiny.

The DOJ is besides probing the University of California system's hiring practices, investigating whether efforts to boost module diverseness interruption national anti-discrimination laws.

"They privation to instrumentality connected nationalist universities the mode they person present taken connected the Ivies," Warner said. "This is going to wounded our universities. Chase distant world-class talent. And frankly, if we don't person immoderate level of world freedom, past what benignant of state are we?"

Most salient among the Ivy League schools targeted by the Trump medication has been Harvard University.  IIn  June, the Trump medication moved to block caller planetary students from enrolling astatine Harvard, accusing the assemblage of failing to study disciplinary records and calling it "no longer a trustworthy steward" of planetary programs. A national justice issued a impermanent restraining order and aboriginal extended it, describing the administration's actions as  unconstitutional retaliation.

The medication besides revoked Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, froze probe funding, and pressed the assemblage connected DEI policies and field protests. Harvard has sued, calling the actions politically motivated and a menace to world freedom.