How Congress could finally tackle elite college admissions

A sweeping college admissions scandal revealed this week raises the question of why it's OK for wealthy parents to cut a check worth millions to get their child admitted to an elite school, but they can't pay a coach to slip in a kid as a recruited "athlete."

One is entirely legal and eagerly accepted by colleges while the other has led to criminal charges for dozens of well-to-do parents.

But this week's scandal has sparked widespread outrage and could open the door for Congress to finally take a hard look at the ways the wealthy have long legally bought their kids’ way into college: Legacy admissions, massive donations and athletics.

The FBI on Tuesday charged dozens of wealthy parents, including celebrities Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, in a major cheating and bribery scheme to get their children admitted into some of the nation's most elite colleges. Coaches at Georgetown, USC, UCLA and other schools face racketeering charges. The FBI has said more parents — and maybe some students — could still be charged.

The White House so far has said little, aside from snarky tweets from White House adviser Kellyanne Conway and Donald Trump Jr. That may be because the Trump administration has not previously wanted to touch the role of money in elite college admissions, a former administration official told POLITICO.