Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Tuesday she talked with the presidents of Harvard and Columbia University about adhering to civil rights law as the Trump administration seeks to leverage federal funding in persuading the private Ivy League institutions to change certain policies.

Harvard on Monday filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts to halt a federal freeze on more than $2.2 billion in grants after it said it would defy the Trump administration’s requests to change certain policies, such as hiring and admission processes, diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, and thwarting on-campus activism critics see as antisemitic.

“I talked to the president of Columbia, I’ve also talked to the president of Harvard, [about] how we could make sure that the universities were abiding by the law,” McMahon told CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” according to The Hill, regarding talks with Harvard President Alan Garber and acting Columbia President Claire Shipman.

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