The White House has put a freeze on $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard University after the institution resisted its demands regarding campus protests. In addition to the $2.2 billion in grants, the Trump administration has also reportedly halted $60 million in contracts with Harvard following the school’s refusal to comply with directives aimed at curbing campus activism.
In a letter dispatched on Friday, the administration under President Donald Trump urged Harvard to implement significant reforms, such as adopting “merit-based” admissions and hiring practices, conducting an audit of students, faculty, and leadership regarding their diversity views, and banning face masks — a measure seemingly targeting pro-Palestinian protesters.
The Trump administration also requested that the university withdraw funding or recognition for any student organization that endorses “criminal activity, illegal violence, or illegal harassment.”
‘No government should dictate…’: Harvard
Harvard President Alan Garber responded on Monday, labeling the demands a violation of the university’s First Amendment rights and an overreach of federal authority under Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.
“No government — regardless of political affiliation — should dictate what private universities teach, whom they admit or hire, or in which fields they engage,” Garber stated in a letter to the Harvard community, noting that the university has already implemented reforms to combat antisemitism.
In reaction to Harvard’s refusal to comply with the administration’s demands, Trump’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism issued a statement saying, “Harvard’s statement today reinforces the concerning entitlement mindset prevalent in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges — the belief that federal funding does not come with the obligation to uphold civil rights laws.”
Harvard is one of several Ivy League institutions facing the Trump administration’s broader initiative to leverage federal funding to reshape campus policies according to its political goals. The administration has accused various universities of permitting antisemitism to proliferate during protests concerning Israel’s conflict in Gaza — allegations that the schools have denied.
Funding from the federal government has also been suspended for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Princeton. A similar letter sent to Columbia University resulted in notable policy changes due to the threat of losing federal support, as reported by AP.
This past weekend, students, faculty, and residents of Cambridge gathered to protest. On Friday, the American Association of University Professors filed a lawsuit, contending that the administration did not follow the necessary legal procedures under Title VI prior to halting funding.
