Harvard University said Monday it will not accept an agreement proposed by the Trump administration for continued federal funding, saying “the university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.”
In response, the administration announced “a freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60M in multi-year contract value to Harvard University.”
On March 31, the administration said it was reviewing about $9 billion in grants and contracts with the Ivy League institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts “to ensure the university is in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities.” The Education Department is investigating alleged antisemitic incidents on college campuses, and President Trump has threatened to pull funding from universities that allow what he says are “illegal protests.”
A letter sent to Harvard on April 11 outlined a series of conditions Harvard needed to meet to maintain a “financial relationship” with the federal government. The demands included leadership reforms, an immediate halt to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, an audit of “viewpoint diversity” among students and faculty, and “meaningful discipline” for students who violated school policies when a pro-Palestinian tent encampment went up on Harvard Yard.
In March, the Trump administration announced it would be canceling $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University, alleging school had “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
“President Trump is working to Make Higher Education Great Again by ending unchecked anti-Semitism and ensuring federal taxpayer dollars do not fund Harvard’s support of dangerous racial discrimination or racially motivated violence,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields said in a statement Monday night. “Harvard or any institution that wishes to violate Title VI is, by law, not eligible for federal funding.”
Harvard response to Trump administration
Harvard president Alan Garber said the school has taken several steps to address antisemitism and “we plan to do much more.” But he said Harvard will not accept the proposed agreement that “goes beyond the power of the federal government.”
“The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Garber said in a statement.
Garber said federally funded research at Harvard has led to breakthroughs in the medical, engineering and scientific fields.
“For the government to retreat from these partnerships now risks not only the health and well-being of millions of individuals, but also the economic security and vitality of our nation,” he said.
Harvard said in March it would be freezing hiring, citing “substantial financial uncertainties driven by rapidly shifting federal policies.” The university said in 2024 that it received $686 million from the federal government, the largest source of support for research.
Freeze on $2.2 billion in grants
On Monday, the Joint Task Force to combat anti-Semitism announced a freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants to Harvard University.
“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 a statement.
“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.”
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