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Trump freezes $2bn in Harvard funds after it rejects demands Trump freezes $2bn in Harvard funds after it rejects demands
(32 minutes later)
Protesters had called for the university to reject demands from the White HouseProtesters had called for the university to reject demands from the White House
The Trump administration has said it is freezing more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in federal funds for Harvard University, hours after the elite college rejected a list of demands from the White House.The Trump administration has said it is freezing more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in federal funds for Harvard University, hours after the elite college rejected a list of demands from the White House.
"Harvard's statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges," the Department of Education said in a statement.
The White House sent a list of demands to Harvard last week which it said were designed to fight antisemitism on campus. They included changes to its governance, hiring practices and admissions procedures.The White House sent a list of demands to Harvard last week which it said were designed to fight antisemitism on campus. They included changes to its governance, hiring practices and admissions procedures.
Harvard rejected it and said the White House was trying to "control" its community. Since Donald Trump was re-elected, his government has tried to reshape elite universities by threatening to withhold federal funds, mostly spent on research.
It is the first major US university to defy pressure from the Trump administration to change its policies. The sweeping changes demanded by the White House would have transformed its operations and ceded a large amount of control to the government. Harvard became the first major US university to reject the administration's demands on Monday, accusing the White House of trying to "control" its community.
The sweeping changes demanded by the White House would have transformed its operations and ceded a large amount of control to the government.
Its letter to Harvard on Friday, obtained by the New York Times, said the university had failed to live up to the "intellectual and civil rights conditions" that justify federal investment.
The letter included 10 categories for proposed changes, including:
reporting students to the federal government who are "hostile" to American values
ensuring each academic department is "viewpoint diverse"
hiring an external government-approved party to audit programs and departments "that most fuel antisemitic harassment"
checking faculty staff for plagiarism
President Trump has accused leading universities of failing to protect Jewish students when college campuses around the country were roiled by protests against the war in Gaza and US support for Israel last year.President Trump has accused leading universities of failing to protect Jewish students when college campuses around the country were roiled by protests against the war in Gaza and US support for Israel last year.
In a letter to the Harvard community on Monday, its President Alan Garber said the White House had sent an "updated and expanded list of demands" on Friday alongside a warning that the university "must comply" in order to maintain its "financial relationship" with the government. The letter orders the university to take disciplinary action for "violations" that happened during protests.
"We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement," he wrote. "The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights." In explaining its rejection of these demands, Harvard President Alan Garber said the university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights under the First Amendment protecting free speech.
Mr Garber added that the university did not "take lightly" its obligation to fight antisemitism, but said the government was overreaching.
"Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard," he said."Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard," he said.
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Shortly after his letter was sent, the education department said it was freezing $2.2bn in grants and $60m in contracts to Harvard immediately. Shortly after his letter of resistance was sent, the education department said it was freezing $2.2bn in grants and $60m in contracts to Harvard immediately.
"The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable," it said. "Harvard's statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges," the Department of Education said in a statement.
"The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support," the statement added. The disruption of learning plaguing campuses is unacceptable and the harassment of Jewish students intolerable, the statement said.
The White House said in its own letter on Friday that Harvard had "in recent years failed to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment". A professor of history at Harvard, David Armitage, told the BBC that the school could afford to resist as the richest university in the US and no price was too high to pay for freedom.
The letter included 10 categories for proposed changes that the White House said were needed in order for Harvard to maintain its "financial relationship with the federal government". "It's a not unexpected act of entirely groundless and vengeful activity by the Trump administration which wants nothing more than to silence freedom of speech," he said.
Some of the changes included: reporting students to the federal government who are "hostile" to American values; ensuring each academic department is "viewpoint diverse"; and hiring an external government-approved party to audit programs and departments "that most fuel antisemitic harassment".
The letter orders the university to take disciplinary action for "violations" that happened during protests on campus over the past two years. It also demands an end the university's diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programmes.
Since taking office, President Trump has put pressure on universities to tackle antisemitism and end diversity practices.
In December 2023, the president's of top US universities were questioned in a tense congressional hearing in which they were accused of failing to protect Jewish students following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war two months earlier.
Claudine Gay, who was then president of Harvard, later apologised after telling the hearing that calls for the killing of Jews were abhorrent, but it would depend on the context whether such comments would constitute a violation of Harvard's code of conduct.
That comment, as well as allegations of plagiarism, led her to resign from the post a month later.
In March, the Trump administration said it was reviewing roughly $256m in federal contracts and grants at Harvard, and an additional $8.7bn in multi-year grant commitments.In March, the Trump administration said it was reviewing roughly $256m in federal contracts and grants at Harvard, and an additional $8.7bn in multi-year grant commitments.
Harvard professors filed a lawsuit in response, alleging the government was unlawfully attacking freedom of speech and academic freedom.Harvard professors filed a lawsuit in response, alleging the government was unlawfully attacking freedom of speech and academic freedom.
The White House had previously pulled $400m in federal funding from Columbia University and accused it of failing to fight antisemitism and protect Jewish students on its campus. Harvard, which has a $53bn endowment, is one of a number of elite universities in the crosshairs of the new presidency.
When the $400m was pulled, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said: "Universities must comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding". Columbia University in New York City agreed to a number of demands last month after the White House pulled $400m in federal funding.
Polling by Gallup last summer suggested that confidence in higher education has been falling over time among Americans of all political backgrounds, partly driven by a growing belief that universities push a political agenda. The decline was particularly steep among Republicans.
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Shortly after, Columbia agreed to several of the administration's demands, drawing criticism from some students and faculty. Columbia agreed to several of the administration's demands, drawing criticism from some students and faculty.
Earlier on Monday, a lawyer for an organiser of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University said her client had been arrested by immigration officials as he attended an interview as part of his application for US citizenship.Earlier on Monday, a lawyer for an organiser of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University said her client had been arrested by immigration officials as he attended an interview as part of his application for US citizenship.
Mohsen Mahdawi, a green card holder who is due to graduate next month, was detained on Monday in Colchester, Vermont.Mohsen Mahdawi, a green card holder who is due to graduate next month, was detained on Monday in Colchester, Vermont.
Others who took part in campus protests against the war, including Columbia University's Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University's Rumeysa Ozturk, have been detained in recent weeks.Others who took part in campus protests against the war, including Columbia University's Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University's Rumeysa Ozturk, have been detained in recent weeks.