Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are pressing for new federal regulations to increase legal protections for university students who are survivors of sexual assault. House Democratic women specifically called on the Trump Administration to strengthen Title IX protections after New York prosecutors reopened a criminal probe into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University. A newly surfaced transcript showing the accuser told police she was "100% confident" she was raped contradicts the district attorney's earlier claims that her 2024 police statements did not specifically allege non-consensual activity.

The investigation into seven men accused of drugging a student with ketamine was revived after the victim filed a civil lawsuit in September 2026 alleging Cornell failed to protect her. While the university expelled two of the students, it only required other accused individuals to write remorse essays, a move Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described as protecting a culture of sexual assault. One of the accused, Diego Sarabia, was fired from Wells Fargo following the reopening of the case, and prosecutors are now reviewing Snapchat messages as key evidence.