Washington, D.C. – The Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard University on Monday intensifying its push to clamp down on what it calls rising anti-Semitism on college campuses. The move follows Harvard’s refusal to comply with sweeping demands from the White House’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism including shutting down diversity offices and tightening immigration screenings for international students.
The administration also froze an additional $60 million in government contracts, citing the university’s failure to protect Jewish students and implement reforms.
Harvard President Alan Garber in a defiant letter to students and faculty, rejected the demands, declaring that the university would not “negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights.” He emphasized that Harvard would not allow any government regardless of political party to dictate its curriculum, admissions, or hiring.
Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset… Federal investment does not come without the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws.
The funding freeze marks an escalation from earlier in the year, when $9 billion in funding was placed under review. On Friday, the administration issued a revised list of demands, including an “audit of views” held by Harvard students and faculty, which the university publicly disclosed and rejected.
The latest developments come amid a wider federal crackdown, as the Department of Education investigates over 60 colleges for alleged anti-Semitic discrimination in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests that erupted after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.
Republican leaders, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, have backed the move, accusing Harvard of fostering “raging anti-Semitism” and calling the school a symbol of “moral and academic rot” in higher education.
In contrast, Columbia University, which was also penalized earlier with a $400 million grant cut, has agreed to reforms including new disciplinary measures and a significant security boost.
The White House’s approach has raised alarm over academic freedom and federal overreach, but officials argue that taxpayer money cannot support institutions that “fail to protect civil rights.”
Meanwhile, immigration enforcement has targeted student organizers of campus protests, including the detention of Mohsen Mahdawi, and deportation proceedings for Mahmoud Khalil—both linked to Columbia’s demonstrations.
