The Trump administration has frozen more than $2 billion in federal funds to Harvard University after the Ivy League institution rejected a sweeping list of demands from the White House.

“The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Harvard President Alan Garber declared in a letter to the campus community, BBC reported.

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The administration’s demands—framed as efforts to combat antisemitism—called for dramatic changes to Harvard’s governance, hiring, admissions, and campus policies. The White House insisted compliance was necessary to maintain the school’s federal funding. Harvard pushed back, accusing the government of trying to “control” the university and overstep constitutional limits.

This marks the first time a major U.S. university has publicly refused the Trump administration’s push to reshape academic environments under the guise of civil rights protections.

Shortly after Garber’s letter was made public, the Department of Education announced it was halting $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard. It justified the move by citing “the harassment of Jewish students” and “disruption of learning” on campuses nationwide.

Academic Freedom

The White House letter accused Harvard of failing to uphold the “intellectual and civil rights conditions” that justify taxpayer support. Among its 10 proposed reforms were:

• Mandatory reporting of students “hostile” to American values
• Government-approved audits of academic departments
• Elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs
• Disciplinary action for past campus protest “violations”

Garber maintained that Harvard takes its responsibility to fight antisemitism seriously but said many of the proposed changes would infringe on academic freedom.

Harvard’s resistance comes amid rising federal pressure on elite universities. In recent months, the Trump administration revoked $400 million in funding from Columbia University, which later agreed to several White House demands. Meanwhile, students involved in pro-Palestinian protests—like Columbia’s Mohsen Mahdawi—have faced detentions and immigration scrutiny.

In response to the funding threat, Harvard faculty have filed a lawsuit against the administration, accusing it of violating free speech and academic independence.

President Trump’s crackdown intensified after a December 2023 congressional hearing in which university leaders, including then-Harvard president Claudine Gay, were grilled over their responses to antisemitism. Gay later resigned amid backlash from her remarks and unrelated plagiarism allegations.

As the administration expands its scrutiny to other institutions, the standoff with Harvard signals a broader ideological clash between federal authority and university autonomy.