The Trump administration has announced plans to withdraw an additional $1 billion in funding from Harvard University, intensifying a conflict that began last week when $2.2 billion in federal grants were frozen. The funding cuts are directed at Harvard due to its resistance to adopting changes aimed at reducing alleged antisemitism and revising its admissions policies.
This recent action follows Harvard’s public disclosure of demands from the Trump administration that were meant to remain confidential. Initially, Trump officials were considering a more lenient approach toward Harvard compared to Columbia University, but revised their strategy after the Harvard president made the letter public.
The letter from the Trump administration, dated April 11, 2025, listed requirements for Harvard to permit federal oversight of its admissions, hiring processes, and the monitoring of ideology among staff and students. Harvard President Alan Garber responded to the letter from Trump’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, indicating that the demands suggested that cooperation would not be productive.
“We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement,” Garber said.
Unlike Columbia University, which complied with similar demands to regain approximately $400 million in federal funding, Harvard has opted to challenge the administration. The university has filed a lawsuit in federal court, contending that the funding freeze infringes on the First Amendment and bypasses procedures required under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Harvard’s decision to make the letter public and announce its intentions to resist has escalated the dispute. The Trump administration has since frozen $2.26 billion in funding and threatened Harvard’s tax-exempt status and its ability to enroll international students, actions that could result in significant financial losses for the university.
In March, Harvard reached out to the Trump administration to prevent a confrontation. However, after several exchanges and subsequent demands, the university found the requirements to be too intrusive. Harvard officials claim the letter was not marked as private, though task force members assert they intended the discussions to remain confidential.
The situation has led Trump officials to believe that Harvard never intended to negotiate in good faith, according to sources familiar with the matter. It was also reported that the demands were disclosed a day earlier than the White House had planned, although a spokesperson later clarified that the contents were not released in error.
“Instead of grandstanding, Harvard should focus on rebuilding confidence among all students, particularly Jewish students,” the spokesman said. “The White House remains open to dialogue, but serious changes are needed at Harvard.”
President Garber noted that while some of Trump’s demands addressed antisemitism, most represented direct governmental control over the university. In Harvard’s lawsuit against the administration, the university described the demands as “arbitrary and capricious,” claiming they infringe on its First Amendment rights.
The administration’s demands included eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, banning masks at campus protests, implementing merit-based hiring and admissions reforms, and reducing the influence of faculty and administrators. Harvard argues that compliance would mean relinquishing its independence and constitutional rights.
Harvard has reiterated its commitment to combating antisemitism through campus initiatives and has complied with the Supreme Court’s ruling to end race-conscious admissions. The university asserts it has worked to broaden intellectual and viewpoint diversity without government intervention.
In its response to the administration, Harvard argued that no government should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study they can pursue.
The threat to Harvard’s research funding is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration targeting numerous universities nationwide. The Department of Education has sent letters to 60 universities, threatening enforcement actions for noncompliance with anti-discrimination provisions.
Harvard’s legal challenge names several federal agencies as defendants, represented by lawyers with ties to President Trump. The lawsuit claims the funding freeze is unrelated to antisemitism and Title VI compliance but is instead part of a targeted campaign against the university, using these concerns as a pretext.
Experts have cautioned that the withdrawal of research funding from universities would significantly impact American innovation and leadership in fields such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. The $2.2 billion initial freeze impacts grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard, with the additional $1 billion reportedly targeting health research specifically.
The dispute underscores the tensions between the Trump administration and elite academic institutions over issues of diversity, antisemitism, and government oversight of academic decision-making. Similar actions have been taken against other Ivy League schools, including Cornell University and Princeton University, with Harvard’s resistance representing the most significant challenge to the administration’s approach to date.
