Investigators Found Eighty Rebranded Operations Across Thirty Universities — Now Their Federal Funding Is Cut Off

S. national security, escalating the administration’s crackdown on foreign influence in American higher education.

In a video posted to his official X account, Hegseth explained that operations Congress had restricted years ago did not disappear but instead resurfaced under new names on U.S. campuses.

According to the Gateway Pundit, he drew a direct comparison between these Chinese influence networks and the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy that the Department of War has been systematically dismantling.

“When I took office, one thing we knew was that the cancer of DEI, it was going to be difficult to kill here in the Department of War. You see, instead of complying, promoters of this ideology just tried to rebrand it and thought they would be safe,” he said.

“Now, today, in a similar example, I want to tell you about Confucius Institutes.”

He continued: “These Chinese government-backed propaganda cultural programs had infiltrated our nation’s universities in almost every state. Now, thankfully, Congress banned them a few years ago, these Confucius Institutes but they came back disguised in new forms just like DEI does. Just call it a different name. Well, the Department of War has taken action to stop this as well. We added these sleeper organizations to our list of institutions that threaten our national security.”

Hegseth framed the move as part of a broader effort to defend American sovereignty against both ideological subversion and foreign espionage, underscoring that cosmetic rebranding would no longer shield hostile entities from scrutiny.

Hegseth stated that investigators uncovered “80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities” operating under different names and charters but with the same mission “to steal intellectual property and to infiltrate the minds of American students.”

Over the past two months, the War Department “systematically dismantled every single one of these organizations” using its leverage over federal funding and contracting relationships with the institutions involved.

“Let this be a lesson to any country trying to steal our hard earned inventions or turn our young people against their own country. We’re done with that. No more and no again,” he said.

The secretary’s language reflected a hawkish posture long favored by conservatives, who have warned for years that Beijing exploits American openness and taxpayer-funded research to advance its own strategic ambitions.

The latest development follows an August 17 directive from the Department of War ordering 30 American academic institutions to conduct comprehensive reviews of their relationships with foreign entities of concern.

The Pentagon specifically targeted collaborations involving organizations associated with rebranded Confucius Institutes and foreign institutions already flagged under federal national security provisions.

According to the official War Department announcement, the investigation was intended to protect American taxpayer-funded research from unauthorized technology transfers, intellectual property theft, and exploitation by foreign adversaries.

Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael delivered a pointed warning to universities maintaining potentially dangerous relationships with foreign entities that might compromise U.S. interests.

“The Department of War has zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security,” Michael declared.

By October 19, the Pentagon reported that all 30 universities had addressed the foreign relationships identified through the review, either severing ties or restructuring arrangements to meet federal requirements.

The department said the investigations resulted in more than 80 termination-related actions, including the cancellation of partnerships and other remedial measures.

Among the universities publicly recognized for taking additional action were Penn State, Virginia Tech, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Southern California, signaling that even elite institutions were not exempt from scrutiny.

Hegseth’s action closes a loophole that previous restrictions left open: once the original Confucius Institute brand became politically toxic, the same Chinese government-linked entities simply adopted new names, charters, and organizational structures while pursuing the identical goals of IP theft and ideological influence on American students.

By placing the rebranded entities on the War Department’s national security threat list and cutting off funding pathways, the department has removed the financial oxygen that allowed them to persist, aligning federal policy more closely with conservative demands for tougher oversight of academia and a firmer stance against the Chinese Communist Party’s soft-power campaigns.