The Trump administration has frozen $2.2 billion in federal grants and an additional $60 million in government contracts to Harvard University, citing the institution’s refusal to comply with sweeping demands aimed at curbing anti-Semitism on campus.
The freeze was announced by the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, following Harvard’s rejection of a list of federal directives that included shutting down campus diversity offices, revising hiring and admissions policies, and cooperating with immigration authorities on screening international students.
"Harvard's statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges — that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws," the Task Force said in its statement. It added that "harassment of Jewish students is intolerable" and called for "meaningful change" if the university wished to continue receiving taxpayer support.
Harvard President Alan Garber pushed back forcefully in a letter addressed to students and faculty, declaring that the university “will not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights.”
The clash comes amid heightened scrutiny of elite universities following nationwide campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza. Several demonstrations have led to clashes between pro-Palestinian activists and pro-Israel counter-protesters, with the former group being accused by Trump and other Republicans of expressing support for Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
In March, the Department of Education launched investigations into 60 colleges and universities over alleged anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment. Harvard had already seen $9 billion in federal funding placed under review, but Friday's announcement marks the first significant financial freeze.
The administration’s latest list of demands included a controversial requirement for Harvard to conduct an "audit" of student and faculty views, which the university has made public in response.
With a second funding freeze now imposed and tensions escalating, Harvard and the federal government appear to be headed for a prolonged confrontation over the limits of academic freedom and the responsibilities tied to public funding.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)