Harvard University will no longer receive new federal research grants until it meets the Trump administration’s demands to crack down on campus antisemitism and to retreat from its racially discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, the Department of Education announced on Monday.
The move was revealed in a letter written by Education Secretary Linda McMahon to Harvard President Alan Garber, a senior department official told reporters on a press call.
“Harvard is not eligible for any new grants from the federal government until they demonstrate responsible management of the university,” the official said, according to the New York Post.
The Trump administration is accusing Harvard of failing to adequately address antisemitism, racial discrimination, lower educational standards, and viewpoint diversity issues, the Associated Press reported.
“Bottom line of the letter is that the Trump administration won’t stand by as taxpayer dollars are used to support colleges that tolerate antisemitism or that support racist policies,” the official said.
The action applies to federal research grants, not federal financial aid. Harvard would need to enter negotiations with the White House and prove it has satisfied the government’s demands in order to be eligible for future grants.
Harvard did not immediately respond to National Review’s request for comment.
Of the roughly $9 billion in federal funding to Harvard that the Trump administration has begun reviewing, at least $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts were frozen last month. The funding freeze was preceded by a letter written by Harvard’s lawyers that rejected the White House antisemitism task force’s demands, which included screening international students to prevent the admission of antisemitic activists or terrorist sympathizers.
Some of the other demands involved establishing merit-based hiring and admissions, ending DEI practices, and enforcing disciplinary policies against campus agitators, according to an April 11 letter from the administration.
Harvard responded to the funding freeze with a lawsuit, alleging the act was unconstitutional and illegal.
Monday’s announcement is expected to escalate hostilities between the federal government and the Ivy League school. The university remains unlikely to comply, although it did make some concessions last week by renaming its DEI office and canceling its funding of race-based graduation ceremonies for so-called affinity groups.
On Friday, President Donald Trump threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status without offering specific details. Harvard doubled down on its resistance to Trump, saying the president has “no legal basis” to revoke its tax-exempt status.