White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has claimed that the presidential administrations recent extortion of Brown University in Rhode Island will help end gender extremism and the institutions barbaric procedures of gender-affirming care for children, including the provision of puberty blockers (which Leavitt dishonestly refers to as chemical castration).The deal, announced Wednesday, requires Brown University to pay $50 million over 10 years to state workforce development organizations (which the federal government will reimburse the university for), and to follow the presidents executive orders commanding institutions to ban transgender women from sports teams and facilities matching their gender identity and to discontinue provision of any gender-affirming medical care for minors. In exchange, the federal government will restore over $500 million in federal contracts and research grants that the administration illegally withheld without the necessary congressional approval. Related Project 2025 creators target university over LGBTQ+-inclusive course materials The Heritage Foundation is trying to intimidate schools into dumping all inclusive educational materials and Trump is empowering them. During yesterdays White House press briefing, a reporter asked if the administration will prioritize ending gender-affirming care provided by other universities in the future.Leavitt replied, Ending the chemical castration of children in our country is a priority of this administration. Weve talked to many of these universities about it, but also the President has also taken very strong action to cut off the funding for any medical institution in this country that provides those barbaric procedures. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Despite Leavitts use of the frightening-sounding term chemical castration, reputable medical organizations, including the Endocrine Society and the World Health Organization, have stated that puberty blockers do not cause irreversible infertility.Gender-affirming surgeries are almost never conducted on trans minors, and almost all major medical associations consider the use of puberty blockers in trans kids to be safe, effective, and essential for their overall well-being.Leavitt on the Trump admin's settlement with Brown preventing the university from providing trans healthcare: "I can tell you that ending the chemical castration of children in this country is a priority of this administration." pic.twitter.com/qZPw2rSIEg Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2025Leavitt claimed that the extortion deal was yet another win to root out antisemitic behavior on our nations college campuses and unlawful racial discrimination, which are the administrations demonizing terms for pro-Palestinian protests and diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) initiatives. The administration has kidnapped and detained pro-Palestinian college and university activists under the pretense that they threaten national security by leading on-campus protests and writing editorials in student publications. Brown is the third Ivy League school, alongside Columbia and Harvard, to cave to the administrations demands that they end all DEI initiatives and trans-inclusive policies under the illegal threat of losing hundreds of millions in federal education funding. When commenting on Columbias similar extortion settlement, Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahonadmitted, This is a monumental victory for conservatives who wanted to do things on these elite campuses for a long time because we had such far left-leaning professors. Her comment undermined the administrations claims about its primary goal being to protect students from antisemitism and discrimination.During the briefing, Leavitt also claimed that Brown Universitys agreement to ban trans women from womens sports is helping womens sports. Critics of trans sports bans have noted that such bans do nothing to stop the unequal funding and abuse that harm female athletes.In a statement, Brown President Christina Paxson noted that the universitys agreement with the federal administration includes a clause preventing the government from dictating the schools curriculum or the content of academic speech. The Universitys foremost priority throughout discussions with the government was remaining true to our academic mission, our core values, and who we are as a community at Brown, Paxson said. We stand solidly behind commitments we repeatedly have affirmed to protect all members of our community from harassment and discrimination, and we protect the ability of our faculty and students to study and learn academic subjects of their choosing, free from censorship.Paxson didnt mention how the university plans will protect trans students from discrimination while forcing them to use bathrooms and locker rooms that do not align with their gender identity.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.