In response to the rape allegations roiling Cornell University, 99 Democrats on Friday sent a letter demanding that the Education Department’s inspector general investigate the Trump administration’s enforcement of Title IX protections for college students who report sexual assault and harassment, and whether the White House has undermined protections for sexual assault survivors.
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In the letter, led by the Democratic Women’s Caucus, the lawmakers argue that the administration reinstated a rule that reduced schools’ liability in sexual assault and harassment investigations.
The Democrats say the Cornell case “raised questions about the Title IX process and discipline imposed by Cornell University and whether relevant information was transmitted to local prosecutors.”
In the case, a former student brought a lawsuit last month against the university and seven students whom she accused of rape. The university said it conducted a thorough Title IX investigation that resulted in sanctions, but it did not lead to criminal charges.
The Democrats cited the Cornell allegations and a case at Louisiana State University, where a student-athlete reportedly was allowed to remain on campus after being found responsible for sexual assault and forcible rape under the university’s Title IX process, as the impetus for the letter.
“These cases underscore broader concerns: first, that there is a sexual violence public health crisis on college campuses, and second, that despite student survivors following established reporting and institutional processes, there is often no meaningful accountability or protection,” the Democrats wrote.
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Those concerns, they said, are exacerbated by “the current condition” of the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which, as of January 2025, faced a backlog of nearly 12,000 civil rights cases, including sexual harassment and assault cases under Title IX.
“We have not effectively addressed a rampant epidemic of sexual assault on college campuses,” said Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Oregon), one of the letter organizers. “The reduction of school liability … increases the chances that [universities] will take risks with their own accountability.”
In a statement to The Washington Post, the Education Department defended the reinstatement of the Title IX rule, saying that both Trump administrations have enforced regulations that provide “a balanced legal approach that protects both survivors and the constitutional right to due process.”
“The Trump Administration’s rule provides unprecedented protections for survivors of sexual assault: schools are required, for the first time ever, to offer supportive measures to victims, even if no formal Title IX complaint was filed,” spokesman Sabin Sidney said in the statement.
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