Harvard University Resists Trump’s Demands, Facing Potential Loss of Billions in Federal Funding | US News
Harvard University has announced it will not comply with the demands of the Trump administration, which puts nearly $9 billion (£6.8 billion) in funding at risk.
The prestigious institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has accused the federal government of attempting “to control the Harvard community.” This includes a call for the auditing of students, faculty, and staff regarding their opinions on diversity.
Harvard’s president, Alan Garber, has criticized the administration for trying to “reduce the power” of certain students, academics, and administrators targeted for their ideological beliefs.
In a letter addressed to the Harvard community on Monday, Mr. Garber asserted that the demands violate the university’s First Amendment rights and “exceed the statutory limits of the government’s authority under Title VI,” which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.
This statement came in response to a letter from the Trump administration sent on Friday, which outlined required reforms and warned that noncompliance might jeopardize the university’s financial relationship with the federal government.
The letter stated: “By August 2025, the university shall commission an external party, which shall satisfy the federal government as to its competence and good faith, to perform an audit of the student body, faculty, staff, and leadership for viewpoint diversity, ensuring that each department, field, or teaching unit is individually viewpoint diverse.”
The ten demands aimed at addressing antisemitism on campus include a restriction on accepting international students deemed “hostile to American values and institutions.”
Moreover, the administration seeks a third-party audit of academic programs it believes “fuel antisemitic harassment or reflect ideological capture.”
Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office. Pic: Reuters
Call to eliminate DEI programs
The federal government has also demanded the immediate termination of all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and initiatives.
The updated demands include a ban on face masks, seemingly targeting pro-Palestinian protesters.
According to the administration, universities allowed what it considers antisemitism to go unchecked during last year’s campus protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza. The institutions have denied this claim.
Harvard’s firm stance
Mr. Garber stated: “No government – regardless of which party is in power – should dictate what private universities can teach, who they can admit and hire, or the areas of study and inquiry they pursue.”
He emphasized that the university has undertaken significant reforms to combat antisemitism.
“These objectives cannot be achieved through exertions of power, detached from legality, that seek to control education at Harvard and dictate our operations,” he wrote.
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In correspondence with the administration, Harvard’s legal representatives asserted the university’s commitment to combating antisemitism and other forms of bigotry, yet stressed that the Trump administration’s demands “intrude upon university freedoms long upheld by the Supreme Court.”
Harvard is one of several Ivy League institutions targeted in this pressure campaign by the administration, which has also paused federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Princeton in an effort to enforce its agenda.
Harvard’s demand letter resembles one that previously led to changes at Columbia University, following threats of substantial funding cuts.
