The Trump administration has announced the immediate suspension of more than $2 billion in federal funding for Harvard University, following the school’s rejection of a list of demands issued by the White House.
In a statement, the Department of Education criticized Harvard’s stance, saying, “Harvard’s response today highlights the pervasive sense of entitlement at some of our nation’s top academic institutions.”
Last week, the White House sent Harvard a list of demands aimed at combating antisemitism on campus. These included sweeping changes to the university’s governance, hiring processes, and admissions policies. On Monday, Harvard formally rejected the list, accusing the administration of attempting to “control” the institution’s internal affairs.
Harvard’s defiance marks the first time a major U.S. university has openly resisted the Trump administration’s push for broad policy reforms. If enacted, the changes would have significantly altered the university’s operations and transferred substantial oversight to the federal government.
President Trump has previously accused elite universities of failing to protect Jewish students amid widespread campus protests over the war in Gaza and U.S. support for Israel.
In a letter addressed to the Harvard community, university president Alan Garber revealed that the White House had sent an “updated and expanded” list of demands on Friday, warning that continued federal funding would depend on compliance.
“We have informed the administration, through our legal counsel, that we will not agree to their proposed terms,” Garber wrote. “Harvard will not compromise its independence or surrender its constitutional rights.”
While reaffirming the university’s commitment to combating antisemitism, Garber said the government’s demands crossed the line.
“Although some measures are clearly intended to address antisemitism, most of the demands represent direct federal regulation of Harvard’s academic environment,” he said.
Just hours after Garber’s letter was released, the Department of Education announced it was freezing $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to the university.
“The learning disruptions on campuses in recent years are unacceptable,” the department stated. “Harassment of Jewish students cannot be tolerated. If elite institutions want continued taxpayer funding, they must commit to real change.”
The White House, in a separate letter on Friday, accused Harvard of falling short of the intellectual and civil rights standards that justify federal investment.
The letter outlined ten proposed categories of reform, including requirements for reporting students perceived as “hostile to American values,” promoting ideological diversity across academic departments, and mandating third-party audits of programs allegedly linked to antisemitic incidents.
Other demands included disciplinary actions against individuals involved in campus protests over the past two years and the elimination of the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Since taking office, President Trump has ramped up pressure on higher education institutions to address antisemitism and discontinue DEI-related policies.
In December 2023, the presidents of several leading U.S. universities, including Harvard, were questioned in a contentious congressional hearing over their handling of antisemitic incidents following the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict two months prior.
At that hearing, then-Harvard President Claudine Gay drew criticism after saying that calls for violence against Jews were abhorrent, but whether such remarks violated university policy would depend on context. She later apologized, but mounting pressure and unrelated plagiarism allegations led to her resignation in January.
In March, the Trump administration began reviewing approximately $256 million in federal contracts and grants awarded to Harvard, in addition to $8.7 billion in longer-term funding commitments.
In response, Harvard professors filed a lawsuit, accusing the government of infringing on free speech and academic independence.
Previously, the administration withdrew $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University, similarly citing failure to address antisemitism and protect Jewish students on its campus.
