While Trump praises Qatar, education officials seek scrutiny

As President Donald Trump works to strengthen ties with Qatar (KUH’-tur), his Education Department is increasing its scrutiny of the country’s funding.

Trump held a public meeting in Washington with the emir of Qatar this week and praised the Persian Gulf state for its investments in the United States.

But the Education Department has recently opened investigations into foreign funding at four universities, focusing on whether they properly reported money from Qatar and other nations.

Officials at the schools say they’re cooperating. The schools are Georgetown, Texas A&M, Cornell and Rutgers.

The department hasn’t explained its interest in Qatar. Some conservatives say Qatar uses its wealth to push extremist views at U.S. campuses.

Qatar has given more than $1.4 billion to U.S. universities over the past decade.