The acting Fulbright Commission Board’s mass resignation this past Wednesday marks a significant moment for education abroad. The board, via a Substack post, cited alleged Trump administration interference in the award process, claiming that the Department of State sent rejection letters to candidates whose applications featured DEI keywords that Trump banned via recent executive order. 

These included subjects such as gender studies, climate change, and history, which has largely changed as a field and now prioritizes identity categories over a substantive study of human civilization. The statement claimed that “injecting politics and ideological mandates into the Fulbright program violates the letter and spirit of the law” that Congress established nearly eight decades ago.