Donald Trumpʼs administration plans to deprive Harvard University of another $1 billion in funding previously allocated for health research.
This is reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing sources.
All because the day before, Harvard University, which rejected the demands of the Administration of the US President Donald Trump, ostensibly aimed at combating anti-Semitism, published a letter from the White House with these demands for state surveillance.
The Trump administration sent Harvard a long list of demands and thought it would be the start of confidential negotiations. But Harvard released the letter, surprising the White House.
Harvard says there was no confidentiality agreement. And the very content of the demands — for example, that the government control who is admitted to the university, who is hired, and what ideas are discussed there — looked not like the beginning of a dialogue, but like an ultimatum.
Although the letter was not marked confidential, members of the government group believe that this was agreed upon earlier. Harvard denies this. The Trump administration believes that Harvard did not intend to negotiate from the very beginning, but was preparing for conflict.
The letter came from Trumpʼs new commission, the "Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism". Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in an open letter that the letter, in form and content, was not about cooperation but about pressure. Harvard said through a lawyer that it would not agree to the proposed terms.
Sources close to Harvard say the task force now wants to protect its reputation.
Possible steps include stripping Harvard of its nonprofit status or limiting its ability to admit international students, which could cost the university billions of dollars.
Back in March, Harvard was trying to avoid conflict and continued to combat surges of anti-Semitism, implementing structural changes that they believed were in line with the Trump administration’s demands in the April 3 letter. But when the follow-up letter arrived on April 11, it was much tougher—and Harvard took it as a final demand, not an invitation to dialogue.
The letter of demands was accidentally sent a day earlier than planned, the New York Times reported. But the administration says its content was well thought out and they support it. A White House spokesman said Harvard should focus on regaining the trust of students, especially Jewish ones, and that the administration was not opposed to talking to the university but expected serious changes. In response, Harvardʼs president said that most of the demands in the letter were not about combating anti-Semitism, but about direct state interference in the life of the university.
What preceded
In March, the US government said it would review $9 billion in funding for Harvard over alleged anti-Semitism, which escalated after student protests against Palestinian rights. A Department of Education task force accused the university of abusing its position and “believing that federal funding does not obligate them to comply with civil rights laws.”
They demanded that activistsʼ influence be limited, that an independent commission be created to review faculties, that faculty and students be hired solely on merit, without regard to race, color, or nationality, and that violations by international students be reported.
Harvard University rejected the Trump administrationʼs demands and lost $2.3 billion in funding as a result.
- In November 2023, more than 1 600 Jewish alumni stopped donating to Harvard University due to anti-Semitism at rallies in support of Palestine.
- In January 2024, Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned amid allegations of plagiarism and a lackluster response to anti-Semitism at the institution.
- That same month, several Jewish students filed a lawsuit against the institution, accusing it of tolerating harassment, assault, and intimidation of students of Jewish origin.
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