Trump needs to tell Qatar's emir to come clean about gifts to US universities
When President Trump hosts the emir of Qatar at the White House Tuesday, the president should confront him about a topic much discussed in Washington these days: foreign influence. Qatar has spent tens of millions of dollars on Washington lobbyists, but it spends far more on gifts to top American universities. With total donations of more than $1.4 billion, it is the top foreign donor overall. It has directed funding to Georgetown, Texas A&M, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Cornell, Michigan, Northwestern, and others. Georgetown, VCU, Cornell, and Texas A&M have even established branch campuses in Qatar. The problem, according to a letter from the U.S. Department of Education announcing an investigation, is that disclosure reports made by Georgetown and Texas A&M “may not fully capture” Qatari gifts, the department noted in the letter. Federal law requires them to report foreign donations worth more than $250,000. The department’s inquiry is part of a broader push to monitor foreign money at American schools.
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