Trump administration freezes future grants to Harvard

WASHINGTON – The US Department of Education informed Harvard University on May 5 that it was freezing billions of dollars in 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 lose billions of dollars in federal grants and contracts.

In a letter to Harvard, 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,” Ms McMahon wrote.

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

It 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.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has escalated its actions against Harvard.

It began a

formal review into nearly US$9 billion (S$11.7 billion) 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 in April, calling them an attack on free speech and academic freedom.

It sued the Trump administration after the latter suspended about US$2.3 billion 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.

The university has previously labelled the Trump administration’s demands as overreaching and as attempts that would relinquish control of the institution to the government.

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