Ellie Park, Multimedia Managing Editor

Yale leaders are scrambling to understand a flurry of executive orders emerging from President Donald Trump’s first weeks back in office that could affect Yale’s funding and programs. 

The University is prioritizing working with legislators behind the scenes while limiting public statements, Yale President Maurie McInnis said in an interview Wednesday.

“I am not always certain that a lot of public pronouncements make a difference, and I would rather be focused on the work that does matter for Yale,” she told the News, saying that the most impactful work is to “continue to advocate for the mission of higher education with lawmakers who are ultimately going to be setting policy and funding priorities.”

The University is responding to Trump’s executive orders by creating task forces to interpret the orders and intensifying advocacy for Yale’s interests in Washington.

The task forces have been thrown together ad hoc as the White House issues executive orders. They are composed of “appropriate subject matter experts” such as lawyers and professors who hold administrative roles and are charged with determining which parts of the orders apply to Yale. 

For example, the group tackling an order released Monday night that moved to freeze trillions in federal funding consisted of staff in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research who work with federal agencies and a lawyer from the Office of the General Counsel.

“We’re trying to be as responsive as we can,” McInnis said. “It’s not like we were told in advance to expect any of this, so we didn’t. None of us had heard any rumors about a pause in federal funding … There might be some areas where you could be like, oh, I wonder if he will do something in the area of X. But some of these are unexpected.”

Another executive order, issued last week, directed federal agencies to investigate diversity, equity and inclusion programs at schools with large endowments.

When changes in federal law are signaled or released, the University has a two-part response, McInnis said. First, a team of experts works to understand how Yale is implicated and how the University should respond to comply. Simultaneously, Yale draws on its relationships with lawmakers. In those conversations, McInnis said she focuses on how Yale boosts American innovation and competitiveness, highlighting the University’s contributions to medical science, economic innovation and national security.

“We are at a moment now where clearly some of these executive orders have raised a lot of questions about, is there going to continue to be a commitment to that work,” McInnis said. “And yet, my sense is — from lawmakers that I’ve spoken with over my career — there’s deep commitment to that work.”

She explained that it takes time to work out what impact each new order actually has on Yale and how to navigate each situation with political savvy.

McInnis and Provost Scott Strobel addressed the federal funding freeze Tuesday afternoon in a statement stressing that much was unknown about the order and urging patience. Since their email, much in fact has changed: a federal judge temporarily blocked the order, and then the budget office of the White House ultimately rescinded the memo.

McInnis said that Yale’s recently adopted report on institutional voice — which advises University leaders to limit public statements on matters unrelated to Yale — has “not yet” factored into her decision-making on sending out statements responding to Trump.

The University has opted not to make a public statement about Trump’s executive orders cracking down on immigration, which could affect international and undocumented Yale affiliates.

Under former President Peter Salovey, who led Yale during Trump’s first term, the University issued several statements condemning anti-immigration orders enacted then, such as the “Muslim ban.” At one point, Salovey sent a public letter to Trump defending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protected undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.

“We’re in a different place with what [Trump’s] pronouncements were in term one to what has been said as of this moment related to our community,” McInnis said when asked whether Yale has current plans to support international scholars. 

She said that while her office has chosen not to communicate widely about immigration yet, the Office of International Students and Scholars is in touch with those impacted.

Although McInnis said that she did not expect the intensity and immediacy of Trump’s executive orders targeting education, she has previously expressed concerns about growing discontent with higher education. In anticipation of the new administration, Yale opened a new office in Washington, DC, and looked to hire a director of federal relations.

In a November interview, she listed declining trust in higher education as one of five primary areas of focus for the University going forward.

McInnis let out the biggest laugh of the interview when asked about how these five priorities are progressing. She said she is trying to remain focused on them even while the changes to federal law are taking up bandwidth.

“While yes, there is important work to do responding to executive orders, it’s also vital that we continue our attention on the mission of the University and keep our work moving forward,” she said.

President-elect Donald Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20.