The Trump administration has cut off more than $2 billion in federal funding to Harvard University, escalating its push to reshape elite institutions after the university refused to comply with a list of demands aimed at addressing antisemitism on campus.
The funding freeze follows Harvard’s formal rejection of a set of sweeping directives from the White House, which sought to overhaul key academic and administrative areas, including hiring, admissions, and teaching. The measures were sent last week as part of what the Trump administration described as a national effort to protect Jewish students and uphold American values at U.S. universities.
Harvard became the first major institution to defy the demands on Monday, stating that the proposals amounted to government overreach and would compromise the school’s academic freedom and constitutional protections.
“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,” said Harvard President Alan Garber. “Harvard will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights under the First Amendment protecting free speech.”
The government’s letter to Harvard, obtained by The New York Times, argued that the university no longer met the “intellectual and civil rights conditions” required to justify federal investment. It laid out 10 proposed changes, including:
-
Reporting students to federal authorities for being “hostile” to American values
-
Mandating “viewpoint diversity” in academic departments
-
Hiring a government-approved auditor to review programs allegedly promoting antisemitic harassment
-
Screening faculty for plagiarism
-
Enforcing disciplinary actions related to campus protests
Citing what it called Harvard’s “troubling entitlement mindset,” the Department of Education announced the funding freeze shortly after the university issued its response.
“Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges,” the department said in a statement. It added that “the disruption of learning plaguing campuses is unacceptable and the harassment of Jewish students intolerable.”
David Armitage, a professor of history at Harvard, denounced the move as politically motivated. “It’s a not unexpected act of entirely groundless and vengeful activity by the Trump administration which wants nothing more than to silence freedom of speech,” he told the BBC.
The freeze includes $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts, with the Education Department warning of further reviews. In March, officials had already begun examining roughly $256 million in active contracts and $8.7 billion in long-term commitments to the university.
Harvard professors have responded with legal action, filing a lawsuit accusing the administration of violating academic freedom and freedom of speech.
The university’s substantial $53 billion endowment gives it a financial cushion, but analysts say the long-term implications of this confrontation could extend beyond Harvard.
Other elite schools are already feeling the heat. Columbia University, which initially resisted, reversed its position last month and agreed to several of the White House’s conditions after losing $400 million in federal funding. That decision drew criticism from both students and faculty.
Meanwhile, tensions around pro-Palestinian protests continue to shape campus politics. On the same day as Harvard’s defiant response, Mohsen Mahdawi—a Columbia student and green card holder—was arrested by immigration officers during a U.S. citizenship interview. Several other students from different universities, including Tufts, have also been detained in connection with past demonstrations.
A recent Gallup poll showed that public trust in higher education is waning, especially among Republicans, many of whom view universities as politically biased.
