(CNN) 鈥� The dean of Georgetown University Law Center on Thursday rebuked a threat from the acting US attorney in Washington, DC, that he would not hire the law school鈥檚 students if it does not remove diversity, equity and inclusion from its curriculum.
Dean William Treanor accused , a Trump ally, of trying to interfere with the curriculum of the law school, which is private and therefore not regulated by the federal government.
鈥淵our letter informs me that your office will deny our students and graduates government employment opportunities until you, as Interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, approve of our curriculum,鈥� Treanor wrote to Martin in a letter dated Thursday. 鈥淕iven the First Amendment鈥檚 protection of a university鈥檚 freedom to determine its own curriculum and how to deliver it, the constitutional violation behind this threat is clear, as is the attack on the University鈥檚 mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution.鈥�
Martin, in a letter emailed to the dean on Monday, said he had been notified that the law school 鈥渃ontinues to promote and teach DEI,鈥� according to the Associated Press.
鈥淭his is unacceptable,鈥� he said, warning Treanor that Georgetown law students will not be selected for an internship, fellowship or employment at the US Attorney鈥檚 Office in Washington until his 鈥渓etter of inquiry鈥� is sorted out.
Martin鈥檚 letter comes as the Trump administration has moved to curb DEI practices. In one of President Donald Trump鈥檚 first moves after returning to office, the White House ordered federal employees in any DEI and accessibility offices to be . Federal agencies were then directed to themselves.
CNN has reached out to Martin鈥檚 office for comment on Treanor鈥檚 response.
Treanor added in the letter Friday that the university 鈥渨as founded on the principle that serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical, and spiritual understanding.
鈥淔or us at Georgetown, this principle is a moral and educational imperative,鈥� the dean continued.
Martin, a right-wing activist and staunch Trump ally, has used his office to aggressively push Trump鈥檚 retribution agenda. Within hours of becoming interim US attorney for DC on Inauguration Day, Martin swiftly used his powers to 鈥痯ending January 6-related cases. He then 鈥痯rosecutors who were involved, and 鈥痑n internal review to hunt for possible misconduct. Last week, Martin who worked on January 6 cases.
The Associated Press and CNN鈥檚 Marshall Cohen, Evan Perez, Jamie Gangel, Casey Gannon and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.
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