The Trump administration announced a freeze of over $2 billion in federal funds to Harvard University, just hours after the prestigious institution declined a series of demands from the White House.
“Today’s statement from Harvard reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges,” stated the Department of Education.
Last week, the White House issued demands to Harvard aimed at curbing antisemitism on campus, which included alterations in governance, hiring, and admissions processes.
Harvard dismissed these demands on Monday, expressing concerns over attempts by the White House to “control” its community.
This marks the first instance of a major U.S. university resisting the Trump administration’s push to alter its policies. The broad changes required by the White House would have significantly altered its operations and granted substantial control to the federal government.
President Trump has criticized top universities for not adequately protecting Jewish students, especially during last year’s campus protests against the Gaza war and U.S. support for Israel.
In a Monday letter to the Harvard community, President Alan Garber relayed that the White House had issued an “updated and expanded list of demands” on Friday, threatening the university’s federal funding unless it complied.
Garber wrote, “We have notified the administration through our legal counsel that their proposed terms are unacceptable. The university will not forfeit its independence or its constitutional rights.”
He emphasized Harvard’s commitment to combating antisemitism but criticized the government’s overreach.
“Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard,” he stated.
Following Garber’s letter, the education department immediately froze $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard.
“The recent disruptions and harassment on campus, particularly of Jewish students, are untenable. It’s crucial that elite universities address these issues seriously and commit to real changes if they wish to continue receiving public funds,” the department added.
The White House’s Friday letter accused Harvard of not meeting the intellectual and civil standards necessary for federal support, listing ten categories where changes were essential.
These changes included reporting students who oppose American values, promoting viewpoint diversity in every academic department, and appointing an external auditor approved by the government to examine programs likely to incite antisemitic harassment.
The letter also demanded that the university discipline those involved in protest activities over the past two years and dismantle its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Since his inauguration, President Trump has pressured universities to address antisemitism and cease diversity programs.
In December 2023, during a congressional hearing, heads of top U.S. universities were grilled over their failure to protect Jewish students in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Former Harvard President Claudine Gay apologized after stating in the hearing that contexts determine whether calls for harm against Jews breach the university’s conduct code. Following allegations of plagiarism, she resigned a month later.
In March, the Trump administration reviewed about $256 million in federal contracts and grants at Harvard, along with $8.7 billion in extended grant commitments.
Harvard professors responded by suing the government, accusing it of unlawfully attacking free speech and academic freedom.
Previously, the administration withdrew $400 million from Columbia University, criticizing it for not combating antisemitism and safeguarding Jewish students.
After Columbia complied with several demands from the administration, it faced backlash from parts of its community.
On Monday, an attorney for a pro-Palestinian protest organizer at Columbia stated his client was arrested by immigration officials while attending a U.S. citizenship interview.
Mohsen Mahdawi, who holds a green card and is set to graduate next month, was detained in Colchester, Vermont.
Other participants in the campus protests, including Mahmoud Khalil of Columbia and Rumeysa Ozturk of Tufts University, have also been detained recently.
