President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday night taking aim at the accreditation process for universities and colleges that fail to comply with the federal Civil Rights Act.

Trump asked Education Secretary Linda McMahon to hold accreditors who violate federal law accountable “through denial, monitoring, suspension, or termination of accreditation recognition.”

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The Trump administration will select which universities can access billions of dollars in federal loans and Pell grants if they go against the Trump administration through directives such as diversity, equity, and inclusion or violate Title IX. 

During the signing, McMahon said the executive order will address the issue of meritocracy.

“We should be looking at those who have real merit to get in, and we have to look harder at those universities that aren’t enforcing that,” McMahon said. 

The executive order comes as the Trump administration is battling against DEI mandates. A Defending Education report revealed that more than 240 colleges and universities continue to operate DEI offices, often changing the names of offices or programs to evade consequences, in spite of Trump’s March executive order. 

During the Biden administration, at least a dozen educational organizations enacted accreditation standards that stipulated higher education institutions implement DEI standards.

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“A group of higher education accreditors are the gatekeepers that decide which colleges and universities American students can spend the more than $100 billion in Federal student loans and Pell Grants dispersed each year,” Trump’s Wednesday executive order said.

“The accreditors’ job is to determine which institutions provide a quality education — and therefore merit accreditation,” it added. “Unfortunately, accreditors have not only failed in this responsibility to students, families, and American taxpayers, but they have also abused their enormous authority.”