Trump administration offers benefits to USC, MIT, other schools who agree to its agenda

The White House has laid out a proposal to nine top U.S. colleges and universities offering preferential access to federal funds in exchange for agreeing to a set of demands

The White House has laid out a proposal to nine top U.S. colleges and universities offering preferential access to federal funds in exchange for agreeing to a set of demands.

In a memo delivered this week and sent to NBC News by a White House official, the Trump administration asked schools, including several Ivy League institutions, to agree to parameters such as barring transgender people from using restrooms or playing in sports that align with their gender identities and capping international undergraduate student enrollment, among other conditions.

In addition, signers would be required to freeze tuition rates charged to American students for the next five years.

Schools that adopt the agreement are promised a number of benefits, including priority treatment for grants.

“By signing the compact, universities receive a competitive advantage,” a White House official said in a statement about the memo. “The Administration does not plan to limit federal funding solely to schools that sign the compact, but they would be given priority for grants when possible as well as invitations for White House events and discussions with officials.”