Universities now find themselves at the frontlines of President Trump's war against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

An executive order this week instructed federal institutions to investigate DEI programs at schools with endowments of more than $1 billion endowments.

Experts say the schools need to be "prepared to fight" as Trump has long been willing to target higher education.

“This is really just the first salvo, and I think colleges should be very concerned, and I think they should be prepared to fight,” said Jeremy Young, director of state and higher education policy at PEN America.

Out of the more than 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S., only a couple hundred hold endowments over $1 billion, including top-ranked schools such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale.

The attorney general, Department of Education and other agencies have 120 days, according to Trump's order, to conclude their investigation and provide the president “appropriate measures to encourage the private sector to end illegal........

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