Harvard Rejects Trump Demands, Faces $2.3B Funding Freeze

On Monday, Harvard rejected Trump’s demands, saying those demands would give the government too much control over the school. The administration responded by freezing $2.3 billion in federal funding for Harvard.

This freeze came after the Trump administration said in March it was reviewing $9 billion in contracts and grants given to Harvard. The review is part of a wider effort to target what the administration claims is rising antisemitism on campuses, especially after pro-Palestinian protests over the past year and a half.

A task force from the Department of Education accused Harvard of having a “troubling entitlement mindset” common in top U.S. universities, suggesting that federal money should come with a responsibility to follow civil rights laws.

This adds more tension to an ongoing conflict between the Trump administration and elite universities. The administration has also frozen large amounts of funding to other universities and begun deportation actions against some foreign students who joined pro-Palestinian protests. Hundreds of student visas have been cancelled.

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Independence of Private Universities 

Harvard President Alan Garber said in a public letter that the demands made by the Department of Education would let the government “control the Harvard community” and hurt the university’s core values. He wrote, “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”

Garber also said that while Harvard is addressing concerns about antisemitism, the university will not allow government pressure to control what it teaches. “The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” he wrote.

On Friday, the education department sent a letter demanding changes at Harvard. These included hiring and admitting only based on merit, ending any racial preferences and reporting foreign students who break conduct rules. The department also wants Harvard to audit departments for “viewpoint diversity.”

White House spokesman Harrison Fields said Trump wants to stop federal funds from supporting “dangerous racial discrimination.” Harvard professors have filed a lawsuit against the review of the $9 billion funding. A similar case is happening at Columbia, which has already had $400 million frozen.

To handle the funding freeze, Harvard is trying to borrow $750 million from Wall Street.