The University of Harvard has initiated legal proceedings against the administration of President Donald Trump to prevent the federal government from freezing over $2 billion in grants. The administration announced intentions to freeze approximately $2.2 billion in grants, aiming to curtail activism on university campuses.
Earlier this month, the administration addressed a letter to Harvard, urging extensive reforms in governance and leadership, along with alterations to its admissions processes. The letter also demanded an audit of the university’s diversity viewpoints and requested the cessation of recognition for certain student clubs.
This move marks Harvard as the fifth Ivy League institution to be targeted in a campaign by the administration, which has similarly halted federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Princeton in attempts to enforce compliance with its policies.
The correspondence to Harvard’s president characterized the federal funds as a taxpayer investment contingent on performance. It criticized Harvard for failing to adequately protect students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment, urging immediate reforms to retain its funding.
Harvard President Alan Garber publicly declared that the university would resist the government’s demands. The administration promptly responded by freezing billions of dollars in federal funding.
Last week, Harvard became the first university to openly resist the Trump administration’s demands, which it contends threaten the independence historically granted to American universities by the Supreme Court. Harvard’s substantial $53 billion endowment provides it with a unique capacity to challenge the federal government, yet similar to other major institutions, it also relies heavily on federal funding to support its scientific and medical research endeavors.
This situation is ongoing, and updates will be provided as further information becomes available.