JD Vance praises Hungarian PM Orbán’s seizure of universities, says taxpayers should get a say in higher ed

Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance lauded Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s crackdown on higher education and defended the controversial leader in Budapest amid bipartisan criticism in the US.

“I don’t know everything he’s ever done,” Vance told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “On the university principle, the idea that taxpayers should have some influence in how their money is spent on these universities — it’s a totally reasonable thing.

In February, Vance suggested Orban’s crackdown on campuses was “closest conservatives have ever gotten to successfully dealing with the left-wing domination of universities.”