Trump Administration Reviewing $8.7 Billion in Grants to Harvard over Campus Antisemitism
Trump Administration Reviewing $8.7 Billion in Grants to Harvard over Campus Antisemitism
The Trump administration is reviewing $8.7 billion in multi-year grants and $255 million in contracts between Harvard and the federal government because of the vaunted ivy’s failure to address campus antisemitism.
The Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, and the General Services Administration are reviewing the contracts and grants for Harvard and its affiliates as part of the Trump administration’s interagency task force to combat antisemitism. The review will also determine whether Harvard is in compliance with federal civil rights laws barring discrimination.
“Harvard has served as a symbol of the American Dream for generations – the pinnacle aspiration for students all over the world to work hard and earn admission to the storied institution,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.
“Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination — all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry — has put its reputation in serious jeopardy. Harvard can right these wrongs and restore itself to a campus dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, where all students feel safe on its campus.”
Harvard did not respond to a request for comment from National Review.
The task force’s review is meant to enforce President Donald Trump’s executive order to combat antisemitic harassment within federally-funded institutions.
“The Task Force will continue its efforts to root out anti-Semitism and to refocus our institutions of higher learning on the core values that undergird a liberal education,” said HHS General Counsel and task force member Sean Keveney.
“We are pleased that Harvard is willing to engage with us on these goals.”
The Trump administration took similar action against Columbia, pulling $400 million of funds earlier this month because of its disruptive anti-Israel encampment that drew nationwide attention last spring. Columbia caved to the White House’s demands weeks later to ensure it does not permanently lose the funding.
The demands include banning masks that hide protesters’ faces and empowering campus law enforcement to arrest unruly demonstrators. Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, stepped down last week after privately downplaying the university’s concessions to the Trump administration.
Harvard was one of numerous elite universities to have an anti-Israel encampment on campus last year when student radicals and outside activists staged protests on campuses nationwide. Earlier this year, Harvard settled two civil rights lawsuits from Jewish students over antisemitic campus harassment and agreed to increase protections for Jewish and Israeli students.
Antisemitic activity on college campuses skyrocketed after Hamas’ mass civilian slaughter on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent war against the terrorist group. Many of the antisemitic demonstrations on campus featured chanting calling for the destruction of Israel and calls for the Biden administration to end U.S. support for the Jewish state.
Former Harvard President Claudine Gay faced significant blowback during a 2023 congressional hearing when she failed to clearly state whether chants for the eradication of Israel violated campus speech policy. Gay was eventually ousted in January 2024 because of the campus antisemitism and dozens of instances of plagiarism throughout her academic career.
Separately, Harvard instituted a hiring freeze earlier this month because of the Trump administration’s crackdown on antisemitism and progressive diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in higher education.
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