People sit on the grass at the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.,
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Harvard University will not receive new federal grants until it meets a series of demands from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, the Education Department announced Monday (May 5, 2025).
The action was laid out in a letter to Harvard’s president and amounts to a major escalation of Trump’s battle with the Ivy League school. The administration previously froze $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard, and Mr. Trump is pushing to strip the school of its tax-exempt status.
Harvard has pushed back on the administration’s demands, setting up a closely watched clash in Mr. Trump’s attempt to force change at universities that he says have become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism.
In a press call, an Education Department official said Harvard will receive no new federal grants until it “demonstrates responsible management of the university” and satisfies federal demands on a range of subjects. The ban applies to federal research grants and not to federal financial aid that helps students cover college tuition and fees.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the decision on a call with reporters.
‘Serious failures’
The official accused Harvard of “serious failures.” The person said Harvard has allowed antisemitism and racial discrimination to perpetuate, it has abandoned rigorous academic standards, and it has failed to allow a range of views on its campus. To become eligible for new grants, Harvard would need to enter negotiations with the federal government and prove it has satisfied the administration’s requirements.
The Trump administration has demanded Harvard make broad government and leadership changes, revise its admissions policy and audit its faculty and student body to ensure the campus is home to many points of view.
The demands are part of a pressure campaign targeting several other high-profile universities. The administration has cut off money to colleges including Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, seeking compliance with Mr. Trump’s agenda.
Antisemitism
The White House says it’s targeting campus antisemitism after pro-Palestinian protests swept U.S. college campuses last year. It’s also focused on the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. And the attacks on Harvard increasingly have called out the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, along with questions about freedom of speech and thought by conservatives on campus.
In a letter Monday to Harvard’s president, Education Secretary Linda McMahon accused the school of enrolling foreign students who showed contempt for the U.S.
Self-inflicted wound: On higher education and Trump administration’s move
“Harvard University has made a mockery of this country’s higher education system,” Ms. McMahon wrote.
Harvard’s president has previously said he will not bend to the government’s demands. The university sued last month to halt the government’s funding freeze.
Harvard’s refusal
A Harvard statement Monday reiterated the university’s refusal to acquiesce and said the government was retaliating for Harvard’s lawsuit.
“Today, we received another letter from the administration doubling down on demands that would impose unprecedented and improper control over Harvard University and would have chilling implications for higher education,” Harvard said. The university said it will “continue to defend against illegal government overreach aimed at stifling research and innovation that make Americans safer and more secure.”
In a conversation with alumni last week, Harvard President Alan Garber acknowledged there was a “kernel of truth” to criticism over antisemitism, freedom of speech and wide viewpoints at Harvard. But he said the conflict with the federal government has become a threat to the school’s autonomy.
“We were faced with a recent demand from the federal government that, in the guise of combating antisemitism, raised new issues of control that frankly we did not anticipate, getting to the heart of governance,” Mr. Garber said. “We felt that we had to take a stand.”
Harvard’s lawsuit said the funding freeze violated the school’s First Amendment rights and the statutory provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. But the stakes go beyond Harvard, Mr. Garber said. “Let us not mistake the issue that we face right now,” he said. “It is an assault on higher education.”
Relying on federal money
The Trump administration said previously that Harvard would need to meet a series of conditions to keep almost $9 billion in grants and contracts.
The school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has an endowment of $53 billion, the largest in the country. Across the university, federal money accounted for 10.5% of revenue in 2023, not counting financial aid such as Pell grants and student loans.
Harvard isn’t alone in its reliance on federal money. Universities receive about 90% of all federal research spending, taking in $59.6 billion in 2023, according to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
That accounts for more than half the $109 billion spent on research at universities, with most of the rest coming from college endowments, state and local governments and nonprofits.
To make up for the loss in federal funding, Ms. McMahon on Monday suggested Harvard rely on “its colossal endowment” and raise money from wealthy alumni.
Harvard generally steers about 5% of its endowment value toward university operations every year, accounting for about a third of its total budget, according to university documents.
The university could draw more from its endowment, but colleges generally try to avoid spending more than 5% to protect investment gains. Like other schools, Harvard is limited in how it spends endowment money, much of which comes from donors who specify how they want it to be used.
Published – May 06, 2025 10:10 am IST
