CLARKE SLAMS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FOR WEAKENING TITLE IX PROTECTIONS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS IN WAKE OF CORNELL ASSAULT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 9, 2026

MEDIA CONTACT:

e: [email protected]

c: 202.913.0126

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) issued the following statement:

"Like countless Americans, I am deeply troubled by reports of the alleged sexual assault on a Cornell University student in 2024. The disturbing details of the case, as well as the university's behavior and actions in its aftermath, have raised grave questions on the ability and willingness of our educational institutions to protect their students, pursue accountability, and prioritize justice, particularly under an administration that has provided them with every opportunity to escape their responsibilities to those in their care.

"The Trump Administration's decision to weaken Title IX by re-establishing a 2020 rule that diminishes protections for students, specifically women and girls facing sexual discrimination and harassment, has transparently made it needlessly difficult for students to report sexual misconduct. Cornell's failure to take the appropriate course of action in the wake of this heinous crime stands on its own as evidence of the Trump Administration's disastrous decision.

"President Trump and Secretary McMahon should feel nothing but shame for reinstating policies that abandon victims instead of protecting them. The burden of securing justice should never rest with survivors, but rather the institutions that they entrusted with their safety. No university, no matter how prestigious or powerful, should be shielded when it fails its students. Women and girls deserve a system that protects them, validates their voices, and ensures their pursuit of justice does not bring them more harm beyond the unimaginable pain they have already endured."

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