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The Trump administration has said it will block Harvard from eligibility for new federal government research grants, escalating its attack on the elite university.
Education secretary Linda McMahon wrote to the university’s president on Monday informing him of the decision and blasting the university for making a “mockery of this country’s higher education system”.
“This letter is to inform you that Harvard should no longer seek GRANTS from the federal government, since none will be provided,” McMahon wrote to Alan Garber.
“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.”
A senior department of education official said the block related specifically to grants for research funding.
Harvard said the latest demands would “impose unprecedented and improper control . . . (with) chilling implications for higher education”.
The university said: “Harvard will continue to comply with the law, promote and encourage respect for viewpoint diversity, and combat antisemitism in our community. Harvard will also continue to defend against illegal government over-reach aimed at stifling research and innovation that make Americans safer and more secure.”
The decision is the latest broadside from US President Donald Trump against Harvard and other elite universities that he has accused of promoting progressive politics and fostering a culture of “wokeness” on campus.
Last week Trump said he would scrap Harvard’s tax-exempt status. He had previously announced plans to strip more than $2.2bn in federal funding from the university, prompting it to launch legal action against his administration.
Monday’s announcement comes after hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman — who led a successful campaign to unseat Harvard’s former president, Claudine Gay — renewed his own attack on the university and suggested it should not have sued the government.
“What Harvard should have done is say: President Trump — you make some good points. Taxpayer money coming to Harvard is a privilege, not a right,” said Ackman.
In her letter, McMahon accused the university of failing to address antisemitism on campus, tolerating discrimination, abandoning academic rigour and lacking a diversity of viewpoints.
Some experts questioned whether the government was able to unilaterally cancel grant funding.
“Saying categorically that an entity is going to be ineligible for grants, before there’s been an adjudication of the entity’s failure to meet the requirements, could be problematic,” said Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University.
However, he added: “I think part of this is the message it sends to other universities.”
The block on funding would last until the resolution of federal government investigations into the university, according to the senior department official. They added that this could be expedited if the university were to “open up a broader negotiation” with the administration.
