{"id":29240,"date":"2025-04-15T06:40:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T10:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=29240"},"modified":"2025-04-15T06:40:24","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T10:40:24","slug":"trump-freezes-2bn-in-harvard-funding-after-university-rejects-demands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2025\/04\/15\/trump-freezes-2bn-in-harvard-funding-after-university-rejects-demands\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump freezes $2bn in Harvard funding after university rejects demands"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">The Trump administration has said it is freezing more than $2bn (\u00a31.5bn) in federal funds for Harvard University, hours after the elite college rejected a list of demands from the White House.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Harvard&#8217;s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation&#8217;s most prestigious universities and colleges,&#8221; the Department of Education said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Harvard rejected it and said the White House was trying to &#8220;control&#8221; its community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In a letter to the Harvard community on Monday, its President Alan Garber said the White House had sent an &#8220;updated and expanded list of demands&#8221; on Friday alongside a warning that the university &#8220;must comply&#8221; in order to maintain its &#8220;financial relationship&#8221; with the government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Mr Garber added that the university did not &#8220;take lightly&#8221; its obligation to fight antisemitism, but said the government was overreaching.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the &#8216;intellectual conditions&#8217; at Harvard,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1le81vw-ListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><a class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c9q499x3v4yo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Columbia University agrees to Trump demand for mask ban<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><a class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c4gp979w055o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump pulls $400m from Columbia University<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><a class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cg411rrnkkko\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Why has Trump revoked hundreds of international student visas?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Shortly after his letter was sent, the education department said it was freezing $2.2bn in grants and $60m in contracts to Harvard immediately.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable,&#8221; it said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;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,&#8221; the statement added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The White House said in its own letter on Friday that Harvard had &#8220;in recent years failed to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The letter included 10 categories for proposed changes that the White House said were needed in order for Harvard to maintain its &#8220;financial relationship with the federal government&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Some of the changes included: reporting students to the federal government who are &#8220;hostile&#8221; to American values; ensuring each academic department is &#8220;viewpoint diverse&#8221;; and hiring an external government-approved party to audit programs and departments &#8220;that most fuel antisemitic harassment&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The letter orders the university to take disciplinary action for &#8220;violations&#8221; that happened during protests on campus over the past two years. It also demands an end the university&#8217;s diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programmes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Since taking office, President Trump has put pressure on universities to tackle antisemitism and end diversity practices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In December 2023, the president&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">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&#8217;s code of conduct.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">That comment, as well as allegations of plagiarism,\u00a0<a class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-67868280\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">led her to resign from the post a month later<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Harvard professors filed a lawsuit in response, alleging the government was unlawfully attacking freedom of speech and academic freedom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">When the $400m was pulled, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said: &#8220;Universities must comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Shortly after,\u00a0<a class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c9q499x3v4yo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Columbia agreed to several of the administration&#8217;s demands<\/a>, drawing criticism from some students and faculty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Earlier on Monday,\u00a0<a class=\"ssrcss-f6h2dj-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cwy0332y7xzo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a lawyer for an organiser of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University said her client had been arrested<\/a>\u00a0by immigration officials as he attended an interview as part of his application for US citizenship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Mohsen Mahdawi, a green card holder who is due to graduate next month, was detained on Monday in Colchester, Vermont.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Others who took part in campus protests against the war, including Columbia University&#8217;s Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University&#8217;s Rumeysa Ozturk, have been detained in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cz01y9gkdm3o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">The Trump administration has said it is freezing more than $2bn (\u00a31.5bn) in federal funds for Harvard University, hours after the elite college rejected a list of demands from the White House. &#8220;Harvard&#8217;s statement today <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2025\/04\/15\/trump-freezes-2bn-in-harvard-funding-after-university-rejects-demands\/\" title=\"Trump freezes $2bn in Harvard funding after university rejects demands\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,3],"tags":[1334,10724,5777,11202,9865,342,11201],"class_list":{"0":"post-29240","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"category-usa","10":"tag-civil-rights","11":"tag-education","12":"tag-harvard-university","13":"tag-intellectual-rights","14":"tag-israel-gaza-war","15":"tag-massachusetts","16":"tag-us-department-of-education","17":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29240"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29241,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29240\/revisions\/29241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}