The Manhattan Statement on Higher Education, advocated by Chris Rufo, proposes a set of six principles aimed at reforming American universities. These principles include prioritizing truth over ideology, ensuring institutional neutrality, promoting color-blind equality, protecting free speech, encouraging civil discourse, and enhancing administrative transparency. The statement calls on President Donald Trump to issue an executive order making adherence to these principles a requirement for federal funding of higher education institutions. The proposal has garnered support across a broad political spectrum, with favorability ratings between 39% and 60%. Proponents argue that recent events, such as the George Floyd riots and the celebration of the Hamas terror campaign, have exposed ideological and racialist tendencies within academia. The statement emphasizes the importance of universities fulfilling their core missions of truth-seeking and teaching critical thinking, especially given the substantial taxpayer funding they receive. Education Secretary McMahon has acknowledged the need for commitment to these values in higher education.