The Trump administration slashed $2.2 billion in federal funds from Harvard on Monday after the Ivy League university defiantly refused to comply with sweeping changes demanded by the government.
The federal Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, which is made up of several federal agencies including the Justice Department and Education Department, announced the “freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to Harvard University."
The task force did not specify which programs the cut grants will affect.
The Trump administration took quick action after Harvard rejected in a definitive letter a list of demands that would have required sweeping changes at the university, saying it would not allow itself “to be taken over by the federal government.”
In the letter to administration officials earlier in the day, lawyers for the university said the demands the government sent in early April “go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration” and refused to agree to the terms.
Harvard, which has the largest endowment in the world at an estimated $53.2 billion, rebuked the administration’s attempt to assert control over it.
“The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the government’s terms as an agreement in principle,” the letter stated.
Harvard’s president, Alan Garber, said in a statement:, “No government – regardless of which party is in power – should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
Trump administration officials had demanded Harvard end all diversity, equity and inclusion policies, crack down on student protesters, limit the power of students and faculty over school leaders, cooperate with federal law enforcement like the Department of Homeland Security and more.
Professors at the school praised Garber on social media for pushing back against the administration’s request.
A powerful and entirely justified statement by @Harvard president Alan Garber in response to massive overreach by the federal government. https://t.co/dRtuNod3tu
— Jeffrey Flier (@jflier) April 14, 2025
The Trump demands were part of the administration’s “review” of federal funding to higher education institutions. Harvard receives a total of approximately $9 billion in grants and contracts from the government, which is the school’s largest source of research support.
The administration has pursued similar tactics with other Ivy Leagues, including Columbia University, Cornell University, Brown University, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Columbia University agreed to Trump’s demands, winning back $400 million in funding.
The Trump administration claims it’s reviewing federal funding to fight antisemitism on college campuses as well as eliminating DEI programs, which officials consider discriminatory. The Trump administration has characterized anti-war protests in defense of Palestinian as antisemitic.
Among its list of demands, the Trump demanded Harvard to adopt merit-based admissions and hiring – something the school already adheres to after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action.
Garber said the school had taken steps to address antisemitism on campus and planned to do more as well. But ultimately, the administration’s request extended beyond fighting antisemitism.
He warned that revoked federal funding would hurt critical research that has helped create breakthroughs in the medical, engineering and scientific fields.
“Harvard remains open to dialogue about what the university has done, and is planning to do, to improve the experience of every member of its community,” lawyers for the school wrote.
“But Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration.”
