The incoming Trump Cabinet is bringing a surprising amount of Ivy League prestige with it—something that might catch a few people off guard.
Let’s start with Trump himself. He’s an Ivy, having earned his economics degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. But don’t expect Wharton to be sending him any congratulatory notes—well, not that they’ve ever acknowledged him much.
Then there’s a whole crew of Cabinet nominees with Ivy credentials. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went to Yale (1984), Vice President-elect J.D. Vance is a Yale Law grad (2013), and Vivek Ramaswamy, who will co-head the Department of Government Efficiency, also graduated from Yale Law in 2013. And don’t forget Pete Hegseth, who is a double Ivy League guy—Princeton and Harvard—though, again, neither school seems too eager to celebrate his rise in politics.
Yale in particular should be feeling proud, with three alumni landing major roles in the Trump Cabinet. But oddly, the university hasn’t been too vocal about it. In fact, they’ve been pretty silent when it comes to celebrating their graduates who are aligning with Trump. This is a stark contrast to their open admiration for alumni like Hillary Clinton and Jake Sullivan, who have leaned left.
Hillary, for example, has been showered with praise from Yale. She’s been invited to share her wisdom, given awards, and praised as a leader who made history. Back in 2016, Yale Law School even issued a statement celebrating her historic presidential nomination.
But when it comes to Vance, Yale’s response has been far more low-key. They didn’t send out any congratulatory messages when he was elected vice president. Instead, they just linked to a USA Today article that mentioned his title as one of the youngest vice presidents in U.S. history. And while Ohio State, where Vance also went to school, threw a much more enthusiastic shout-out, Yale barely made a peep. In fact, when the Yale Daily News covered Trump’s victory, they mentioned Vance’s achievement in the eighth paragraph—adding a rather cold comment about how “few in the community are likely to celebrate his political ascendancy.”
And then there’s Bessent, who has a long history with Yale. He’s donated generously, taught as an adjunct professor, and even helped fund a library and scholarships. Despite all this, Yale didn’t seem too eager to highlight his nomination for such a high-profile role in the Cabinet. Compare this to when another Yale grad, Jake Sullivan, was appointed as Biden’s national security adviser back in 2013, and Yale couldn’t stop singing his praises.
It’s clear that Yale’s enthusiasm seems to be reserved for alumni who align with the left-leaning side of the political spectrum. Once these Ivy League graduates join forces with Trump, though, the Ivy League seems to ignore them—even if they’ve contributed a lot to their universities and the world beyond.
