Harvard University is facing a $2.3 billion federal funding freeze after refusing to comply with a series of demands issued by the Trump administration to overhaul its admissions, hiring, and campus activism policies.
The Trump administration’s demands included that Harvard overhaul its admissions and hiring practices to become “merit-based,” audit the political views of students and faculty, ban face masks during protests, and report international students deemed “hostile to American values.” The Trump administration claims these actions are necessary to fight antisemitism, which it says has gone unchecked during recent pro-Palestinian campus protests.
Harvard President Alan Garber strongly rejected the conditions, stating that the demands “threaten the university’s independence” and violate constitutional rights. He stressed that academic institutions must remain free from government overreach, stating that “No government should dictate what private universities can teach or whom they can admit.”
The Department of Education responded swiftly, announcing the freeze of more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts. The Trump administration also began reviewing Harvard’s $9 billion in total federal funding and floated the idea of stripping the university of its tax-exempt status. Harvard, which has a $53 billion endowment, is preparing to borrow $750 million to manage any short-term financial fallout.
