ANALYSIS: The College Fix identified just one Truman Scholarship winner involved in center-right politics a decade after winning
Truman Scholarship award winners stayed involved in liberal political issues a decade after winning the taxpayer-funded scholarship, according to an analysis by The College Fix.
The Fix reviewed the activities of Truman Scholars from 2015 and 2016 and found 82 of the 112 winners have a clear connection to liberal politics, such as working for a Democratic Party candidate, a pro-abortion group, or studying LGBT issues as a researcher.
The Fix identified only one winner in the past 10 years who is still involved in some way with conservative political issues.
When The Fix first looked at the 2015 and 2016 winners, there were four identified who had some connection to right-leaning politics, but one, Daniel Waqar, is now an academic who regularly shares anti-Israel content on his social media. Another, Soren Schmidt, previously interned for Arizona Senator Jeff Flake’s office. However, there is no indication he is still involved in politics.
Another Republican from the 2016 group is Daniela Estrada — but her only connection to the GOP is she interned for a Republican district attorney. She is a graduate student at University of California Berkeley and also worked on a Democratic congressional campaign.
The only remaining Republican, J. Grant Addison, is a deputy editor for the Washington Examiner. He declined to comment when asked by The Fix about any biases in the selection system and his thoughts about the disparities.
The federally funded scholarship is annually awarded to approximately 55 students who promise to spend three of their first seven years after graduate school in public service. For at least the last decade, the scholarships have been overwhelmingly awarded to left-leaning students.
In 2025, more than three-quarters of the scholarship winners were openly progressive, with a similar proportion found in 2024.
The leader of the program has frequently denied there is any bias in the program and usually puts the responsibility back on The College Fix to fix the disparities, never suggesting any potential solutions she might pursue in her role to rectify the problem.
Terry Babcock-Lumish, executive secretary of the Truman Foundation, told The College Fix, “The Truman Foundation is a merit-based scholarship program committed to identifying aspiring leaders throughout the United States, regardless of ideology.”
“Our application process does not inquire about political affiliation, nor will it,” she said. “Each year, we strongly encourage eligible students to compete.”
She continued, “We will open the 2026 competition at the start of the 2025-26 academic year and trust College Fix readers dedicated to careers in public service will speak with their local faculty representatives to learn more about our opportunity,” the former Clinton White House staffer and Gates Foundation consultant told The Fix.
“Unless candidates apply, we cannot select them,” she said, repeating similar quotes she has given to The Fix in the past.
Babcock-Lumish did not answer whether the Truman Foundation has made any efforts to reduce the disparity between the number of conservative and progressive scholars.
However, a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee said more must be done to ensure there is equal opportunity for conservatives.
“For years, I’ve fought to end taxpayer-funded discrimination in higher education,” Republican Rep. Burgess Owens told The Fix.
“The Truman Scholarship was created to support future public servants, not bankroll a partisan pipeline that shuts out conservative voices,” the Utah congressman said.
“Congress must continue using its oversight and appropriations authority to ensure every student gets a fair shot and equal opportunity in all federally funded programs,” Owens said.
Expert finds ‘dramatic leftward ideological tilt’
Frederick Hess, director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, authored a report on bias in the Truman Scholarship program last year. It found “a dramatic leftward ideological tilt among students selected.”
He told The Fix it is unclear whether the ideological disparity has more to do with the applicant pool or the selection process, “but you’d think it’d be in the Truman Foundation’s interest to find out. Yet, the current leadership shows a remarkable incuriosity about all this.”
Hess said congressional oversight may be necessary because “there’s no evidence that the foundation is inclined to tackle this on its own. Given its civic mission and public support, that suggests external intervention is appropriate.”
He told conservative students to “speak up” if they find signs of discrimination in the application process for Truman or other scholarships.
“Tell any sympathetic faculty and ask them to speak up. Share your experiences on social media,” he said. “Put anecdotes and examples out there so that they’re tougher to ignore.”
Various members of the 2015 cohort currently or recently worked for progressive politicians or organizations. For instance, Frank Smith worked as a policy advisor to former Vice President Kamala Harris, Alex Paterson is an associate research director at Media Matters, and Machmud Makhmudov served as president of the Law School Democrats of America until last year.
The same is true for the 2016 cohort, including Zoraima Pelaez, a staff attorney at the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, and Victoria Maloch, a senior policy advisor to Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennet.
A small number of the scholars have pursued paths in academia, including Kali Tambree, an “anti-disciplinary student in gender studies” at the University of California-Los Angeles with research interests including black feminism and critical theory, and Alejandra Rosa, a nonbinary Afro-Caribbean Performance Studies doctoral student at Harvard University.
The Truman Foundation’s board includes San Diego Democratic Mayor Todd Gloria, Rhode Island Democratic Rep. Gabe Amo, New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, former Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
Rep. Stefanik recently called for a “full review” of the Truman Scholarship based on research by The Fix and American Enterprise Institute.
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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: A promotional image for the Truman Scholarship Foundation; Truman Scholarship Foundation
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