President Donald Trump took decisive action Friday, signing an executive order that strips funding from any school or university that continues to require students to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
The order directs the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services to create a system to identify schools still enforcing the policy. Any institution found violating the order will have its federal grants revoked.
Though most educational institutions backed away from mandates after the Biden administration lost power, some colleges have continued enforcing requirements, particularly for students residing in on-campus housing. According to No College Mandates, at least 15 institutions were still enforcing some form of COVID-19 vaccine requirement as of late 2024.
Trump just defunded any school that still has a COVID jab requirement. I voted for this.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 14, 2025
Trump’s order follows his earlier directive reversing vaccine mandates for military personnel, which had led to the dismissal of service members who refused the shot. That policy was rescinded after Trump took office, with an option for reinstatement for those affected.
Remember when Biden threatened that if you don’t get the covid vaccine you will die??
Trump just stripped funding from schools if they mandate the vaccine.
Thank you President Trump! This is what we voted for! pic.twitter.com/UzyKPKl73X
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 14, 2025
Predictably, Democrats have opposed the order, arguing that schools should set their own policies. However, Trump has consistently promised that no school enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate would receive taxpayer dollars, and his administration is now following through on that commitment.
Trump has fired a warning shot to Big Pharma says Dr Naomi Wolf with his ban on funding schools that mandate the covid vaccine.
Schools were given millions of dollars to ‘traffic the kids bodies essentially for Pharma’.
That all stops now.
Not to mention restoring parental… pic.twitter.com/kVt1cccDQ7
— Kat A 🌸 (@SaiKate108) February 15, 2025
This latest action is another step in Trump’s broader effort to ensure medical freedom and eliminate unnecessary government overreach. Schools that refuse to drop their mandates will now have to decide between keeping their policies or keeping their funding.
