Trump Administration Freezes Billions In Grants For Harvard University

On Monday, the Trump administration’s Department of Education announced it would freeze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to Harvard University after the university said it would not comply with the Trump administration’s demand that the university claimed would “invade university freedoms.”

Last Friday, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services sent a letter to Harvard in which they stated, “The United States has invested in Harvard University’s operations because of the value to the country of scholarly discovery and academic excellence. But an investment is not an entitlement. It depends on Harvard upholding federal civil rights laws, and it only makes sense if Harvard  fosters the kind of environment that produces intellectual creativity and scholarly vigor, both of which are antithetical to ideological capture.”

“By August 2025, the University must adopt and implement merit-based hiring policies, and cease all preferences based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin …” the letter noted, adding that the same attitude must prevail in admissions policies. The correspondence also declared that by the same date, the university must “prevent admitting students hostile to the American values and institutions inscribed in the American Constitution and Declaration of Independence, including students supportive of terrorism and anti-Semitism.”

The university “shall commission an external party … to audit the student body, faculty and leadership for viewpoint diversity” by August 2025, the letter continued, in order to ensure that the leftist perspective that dominates the university should be contrasted with other viewpoints.

Alan Garber, the president of Harvard University, responded with a statement in which he said, “We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement,” contending, “The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights” and claiming the administration’s demands violated “Harvard’s First Amendment rights … threatens our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge.”

 “Our motto—Veritas, or truth—guides us as we navigate the challenging path ahead,” Garber continued. “Seeking truth is a journey without end. It requires us to be open to new information and different perspectives, to subject our beliefs to ongoing scrutiny, and to be ready to change our minds.”

The Department of Education’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism responded on Monday: “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 disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support.”

“The Joint Task Force to combat anti-Semitism is announcing a freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60M in multi-year contract value to Harvard University,” the statement concluded.