Are elite universities like Columbia and Brown ‘selling their souls’ to Trump? Newsom feels so; here is why

California Governor Gavin Newsom has accused elite universities like Harvard, Columbia, Brown, and Penn of “selling their souls” to Donald Trump by agreeing to multimillion-dollar settlements to restore frozen federal research grants. While schools argue the deals safeguard funding, critics warn they erode academic independence. Newsom vows UCLA will resist, framing the standoff as principle versus pragmatism.