Trump administration halts new research grants to Harvard

Washington — The US department of education has informed Harvard University it was freezing billions of dollars in future research grants and other aid until the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college concedes to a number of demands from the Trump administration, a senior department official said.

The move represents the latest salvo from a Trump administration willing to use the power of the federal purse to force institutions, from law firms to universities, to make sweeping policy changes or else lose billions of dollars in federal grants and contracts.

In a letter to Harvard this week, US education department secretary Linda McMahon said the university must address concerns about anti-Semitism on campus, school policies that consider a student’s race, and complaints from the administration the university has abandoned its pursuit of “academic excellence” while employing relatively few conservative faculty members.

“This letter is to inform you that Harvard should no longer seek GRANTS from the federal government, since none will be provided,” McMahon wrote.

Harvard said the McMahon letter doubles down on demands that would impose “unprecedented and improper control” over the university and makes new threats to “illegally” withhold funding for life-saving research.

“Harvard will also continue to defend against illegal government overreach aimed at stifling research and innovation that make Americans safer and more secure,” a university spokesperson said.

The freeze of future funding represents a slightly altered tactic by the Trump administration, whose attempts to freeze top schools of existing funds raised legal eyebrows.

Trump has targeted Harvard over allegations of anti-Semitism on campus during pro-Palestinian protests. The protests were sparked by US ally Israel’s military assault on Gaza after the October 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants.

Trump has alleged pro-Palestinian protesters are anti-Semitic and sympathetic to Hamas. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly conflate their criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza with anti-Semitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.

In recent weeks, the administration began a formal review into nearly $9bn in federal funding for Harvard, demanded the university ban diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and crack down on some pro-Palestinian groups and masks in protests.

Harvard rejected numerous Trump demands last month, calling them an attack on free speech and academic freedom. It sued the Trump administration after it suspended about $2.3bn in federal funding for the educational institution, while also pledging to tackle discrimination on campus.

In its lawsuit against the Trump administration, Harvard said the government’s funding cuts will have stark “real-life consequences for patients, students, faculty, staff, (and) researchers” while putting in jeopardy crucial medical and scientific research.

Harvard has a $53bn endowment, the largest of any US university, but the funds are often restricted and used for things such as financial aid and scholarships.

Reuters