Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi slammed the US Department of Education’s September 19 social‑media post featuring a packed football stadium and the slogan ‘Make College Football Great Again’. The graphic, posted on the agency’s official Instagram, paired the slogan with a photo of a roaring crowd, raising eyebrows across the political spectrum.
The controversy began when Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, shared a photograph of South Asian students celebrating a University of Texas football victory. French’s captions, which claimed the event highlighted the displacement of Americans by foreigners, drew bipartisan condemnation. Texas Senator John Cornyn and GOP lawmakers Lacey Hull and Jared Patterson publicly denounced the remarks as “intolerance and racism.”
Krishnamoorthi criticized the Education Department’s post as a “dog whistle” that seemed to echo French’s rhetoric. He said, “South Asian Americans are as American as anyone,” and warned that the department’s messaging could be interpreted as supporting divisive narratives. The congressman urged the department to audit its social‑media strategy to avoid political entanglement.
The Department of Education has yet to issue a response. A joint congressional oversight committee is slated to review the agency’s communications strategy in a hearing scheduled for next week, amid growing pressure from civil‑rights groups and university leaders.
The fallout has reignited debate over the role of federal agencies in partisan politics and the need for clear, inclusive messaging that reflects the diverse student body at institutions like the University of Texas, where international students make up 4.3% of undergraduates.