US President hints at halting federal grants to Harvard, citing concerns over the university’s handling of speech, hiring, and recent pro-Palestinian Arab protests.
US President Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday that his administration may stop awarding federal grants to Harvard University, citing dissatisfaction with the institution’s response to White House directives on governance, speech oversight, and campus policies.
“And it looks like we are not going to be giving them any more grants, right Linda?” Trump remarked, according to Reuters, directing his comment to Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
He added, “A grant is at our discretion and they are really not behaving well. So it’s too bad.”
Neither Harvard University nor the Department of Education responded immediately to inquiries about the President’s remarks.
Tensions between the Trump administration and Harvard have intensified following campus protests tied to the war in Gaza. The administration has accused Harvard of allowing antisemitism to flourish during demonstrations opposing Israel’s military actions after the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
The federal government announced recently that it would freeze $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard due to its failure to fight campus antisemitism.
That move came after Harvard President Alan Garber stated that Harvard would not comply with the administration’s directives.
Subsequent reports indicated that the Trump administration is preparing to freeze another billion dollars in federal funding for Harvard University because 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.
Harvard then filed a lawsuit in response to the administration’s funding freeze.
On Tuesday, Harvard published two internal reviews detailing incidents of discrimination against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab students during last year’s protests. The reports found that some students feared marginalization for expressing political views.
