The Trump Administration is preparing to freeze another billion dollars in federal funding for Harvard University after previously freezing more than $2 billion for Harvard, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Officials told the paper that the administration was angered by Harvard's decision to publish a letter listing the government's demands, as the contents of the letter were supposed to be kept private. According to the report, the administration had planned on treating Harvard more leniently than Columbia University, which had $400 million in federal funds frozen, but decided to come down harder following the publication of the letter's contents.
Last week, the Trump Administration halted approximately $2.3 billion in federal funding allocated to Harvard University following the school’s refusal to comply with directives from the White House targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
According to the announcement from the US Department of Education, the decision encompasses a freeze on $2.2 billion in grant money, as well as $60 million in federal contracts previously designated for the Ivy League institution.
“Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges—that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws,” stated the department’s task force on combating antisemitism.
While Harvard has not issued a detailed public response to the funding suspension, the dispute marks a significant escalation in tensions between the federal government and elite universities over the direction and governance of campus policies related to diversity and civil rights compliance.
The funding cut was announced hours after Harvard University President Alan Garber announced the university would refuse to comply with the Trump administration's demands on campus protests, diversity programs, and campus antisemitism.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Garber wrote.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Harvard University is abusing its tax-exempt status, describing the university as “antisemitic” over its handling of anti-Israel protests on campus.
“I think Harvard is a disgrace. They're obviously antisemitic, and all of a sudden they're starting to behave,” Trump told reporters.
“But when you see what they were saying, what they were doing, when you see the way they took care of events, when you watch that woman, that horrendous president that ruined the image of Harvard, maybe permanently, in Congress…when you take a look at what happened there, it was horrific.”
Noting that the issue of Harvard’s tax-exempt status is being handled by lawyers, Trump continued, “Tax-exempt status, I mean, it's a privilege. It's really a privilege, and it's been abused by a lot more than Harvard, too. So we'll see how that all works out.”
“I don't think they've made a final ruling. I don't believe they've made a final ruling, but it's something that these schools really have to be very, very careful with,” stated the President.