Trump "freezes" 2.2 billion USD for Harvard - The decision comes after the university refused to change policies
The Trump administration announced it would freeze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value at Harvard University. Harvard previously said it would reject the Trump administration's demands for changes to the school's policies.
In response to the funding freeze, the university referred to its previous statement, saying that "The government's withdrawal from these partnerships now jeopardizes not only the health and well-being of millions of individuals, but also the economic security and vitality of our nation."
The university received a letter from a federal task force last week outlining additional policy requirements that "will preserve Harvard's financial relationship with the federal government."
The Trump administration has threatened numerous colleges across the U.S. with funding cuts unless changes are made to school policies. Harvard's decision marks the first time an elite university has defied the White House over such demands.
Among the demands in the administration's letter are the elimination of Harvard's diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, a ban on masks during campus protests, and reforms to merit-based recruitment and admissions. In addition, it calls for reducing the power held by faculty and administrators "more committed to activism than to scholarship."
The proposed changes are the latest effort to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses, following a series of high-profile incidents across the country in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
"President Trump is working to make higher education great again, ending rampant anti-Semitism and ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars do not fund Harvard's support for dangerous racial discrimination or racially motivated violence," a White House spokesman said in a statement. "Harvard or any institution that seeks to violate Title VI is, by law, ineligible for federal funding."
Harvard's endowment was $53.2 billion in 2024, according to a financial report from the university.
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