In a move to address what it calls “unchecked antisemitism” on college campuses, the Trump administration has frozen an estimated $2.26 billion in federal grants and contracts to Harvard University.
The administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced the decision after Harvard President Alan Garber refused to comply with newly expanded federal demands intended to combat anti-Israel protests and alleged antisemitic rhetoric on campus.
The ultimatum, delivered in a letter last week, outlined conditions for continued federal support, including broad institutional reforms, stricter limits on activism and protests, and greater control over admissions and hiring practices.
Notably, the administration’s demands also include the prohibition of face coverings at protests and a call to defund or derecognize student groups that endorse or engage in “criminal activity, illegal violence, or illegal harassment.”
President Garber responded by asserting that the federal government’s requirements violate the university’s First Amendment rights and go beyond statutory authority under Title VI.
“Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges,” the Task Force said in a statement.“It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support.”
Prominent conservative voices applauded the funding freeze. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), a 2006 Harvard graduate, described Harvard’s leadership as symptomatic of the “moral and academic rot” within higher education. “It is time to totally cut off U.S. taxpayer funding to this institution that has failed to live up to its founding motto Veritas. Defund Harvard,” she said.
Harvard, for its part, has taken a firm stand against what it regards as federal overreach and political pressure.
President Garber stated that while the university condemns antisemitism and discrimination of any kind, it will not accept the administration’s “dangerous demands.”
Support for Harvard’s decision to resist came from Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, who praised the university for refusing to be “bullied” by the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, civil rights groups such as the American Association of University Professors have filed legal challenges, arguing that the administration failed to follow the proper procedures under federal law before cutting funds.
The freezing of Harvard’s multi-year grants and contracts is part of a broader clampdown on Ivy League institutions and other universities nationwide where the administration alleges anti-Israel sentiment has escalated into antisemitic harassment.
Trump officials claim these institutions are not doing enough to curb hostile campus environments, pointing specifically to pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
As the standoff intensifies, both sides appear unwilling to budge. The Trump administration has signaled that the freeze will remain in effect until Harvard and other schools adopt stricter policies to curb what it calls a “rampant culture of antisemitism.”
Harvard’s leadership, citing the university’s commitment to free inquiry and individual rights, insists it will not comply with what it deems unconstitutional demands.
With legal challenges just beginning, the outcome of this high-stakes battle may have far-reaching consequences for federal funding at colleges nationwide.