Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced that Harvard will no longer be eligible for new grants after rejecting the Trump administration’s resolution proposal.
The Department of Education (ED) sent a letter to the Ivy League university on Monday alleging Harvard is engaged in a “systemic pattern of violating federal law” and notifying the university of its inability to receive federal funding. The violations cited include a failure to adhere to civil rights laws by illegally using race as a factor for admission decisions and failing to protect Jewish students on campus.
“Harvard University, despite amassing a largely tax-free $53.2 billion dollar endowment (larger than the GDP of 100 countries), receives billions of dollars of taxpayer largess each year,” the letter reads. “Harvard will cease to be a publicly funded institution, and can instead operate as a privately-funded institution, drawing on its colossal endowment, and raising money from its large base of wealthy alumni.”
The letter, also posted to X by the secretary, reprimands the Ivy League school for accepting foreign students into the school who go on to “engage in violent behavior and show contempt for the United States of America.” The administration has made its stance on foreign students who espouse anti-American views clear, demanding in a previous letter that Harvard review its process for recruiting and admitting international students. Several foreign students who engaged in violent antisemitic protests at other universities have already been deported.
“Harvard should no longer seek grants from the federal government, since none will be provided,” McMahon wrote in an X post. “Receiving taxpayer funds is a privilege, not a right.”
“Harvard will continue to comply with the law, promote and encourage respect for viewpoint diversity, and combat antisemitism in our community,” a university spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Harvard will also continue to defend against illegal government overreach aimed at stifling research and innovation that make Americans safer and more secure.”
The university has been in hot water with the administration due to its alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus as well as concerns the school is not obeying civil rights laws by using race as a factor in admissions and hosting other diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. ED alleges Harvard is illegally using race as a factor in admissions despite a 2023 Supreme Court ruling banning the practice, with ED’s letter saying the school “continues to engage in ugly racism.”
The once-prestigious university found itself on the federal government’s radar after a September 2024 congressional investigation revealed “Harvard failed” to enforce meaningful punishment on nearly 70 students who were involved in a multi-day pro-Hamas encampment during the previous spring semester. Demonstrators at the Ivy League institution also disrupted classes and occupied a campus building.
Since then, the school has been sent several warnings by ED in conjunction with the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, which includes the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The ED sent a letter to Harvard on April 11 demanding the school agree to a host of reforms, including adjusting and enforcing disciplinary processes, improving screening of international students for “hostile” views and auditing “programs with egregious records of antisemitism.” Harvard responded that it “will not surrender,” citing academic freedom concerns and free speech rights.
Harvard president Alan Garber later apologized to the Harvard community and promised to address antisemitism after the school’s own internal investigations revealed a hostile campus climate, though the university did not back down from its stance against the Trump administration.
The 311-page antisemitism report found that more than a quarter of Jewish students felt “physically unsafe” on campus and “Almost 60% of Jewish students reported experiencing ‘discrimination, stereotyping, or negative bias.’” It also stated “Certain Harvard Schools, departments, institutes, centers, and instructors were described [by Jewish students and staff] as promoting or tolerating anti-Israeli critiques that blend into animosity towards Jews.”
Over $2 billion in grants have already been revoked from Harvard from several federal agencies, and President Donald Trump also stated recently the school’s tax-exempt status will be revoked.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include a comment from a Harvard spokesman.
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