President Donald Trump has reportedly picked Liberty University Jerry Falwell to head a new task force that will curb college regulations and micromanagement from the Department of Education.
Falwell told News & Advance last Tuesday that he had a conversation with presidential adviser Steve Bannon and other officials saying Trump is forming an educational task force that he was tasked to lead. He said that the task force will focus on issues that "impact higher education." At that time, he also said that he would speak with the President to further discuss it.
Falwell, who is the son of the late televangelist Jerry Falwell, Sr., was in the news in the past for his criticism of the Department of Education. He accused the department of micromanaging universities and colleges as well as intruding into the accreditation process of the higher education institutions.
Aside from that, Reuters reported that Falwell also wants to federal regulations on reporting and investigating sexual assaults in the campus which fall under Title IX, a law that prohibits sexual discrimination. Falwell believes that sexual investigations in campuses should be the job of the police.
Meanwhile, in another interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education, Falwell also mentioned that the task force will also look into the new "borrower defense to repayment" policies, which will allow defrauded borrowers to get their loans forgiven.
When asked when the task force will be launched, Falwell did not give an exact timeline but said that it might be very soon based on Trump's style of governance. He said that everything was at the preliminary stage but he already received the green light from Bannon.
Known as a very vocal Trump supporter, Falwell also said that Trump first offered the Department of Education position to him but according to him, he turned it down because he didn't want to be away from Liberty for a long time and he did not want to transfer his family to Washington.
