 "Now Trump to cut $1 billion more from Harvard: Can university survive this fight?")
The Harvard vs Trump battle enters Week 2. After freezing $2.2 million in grants and threatening to strip the prestigious university of its tax-exempt status, the US administration is planning to pull an additional $1 billion in funding for health research, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
It all started last Monday (April 14), when the Trump administration announced that it would pause $2.2 billion in multiyear grants and $60 million in multiyear contract value to Harvard University. The crackdown against the school is because it has refused to follow policy demands from the government.
Why is Trump going after Havard University?
Last Friday (April 11), US officials sent a confidential letter with a long list of demands to Harvard, which they thought was confidential. However, on Monday last, the university made the letter public.
The administration was planning to treat Harvard, the country’s oldest institute of higher education, more leniently than Columbia University, which was the centre of anti-Israel protests. However, they now want to pressure Harvard more, people familiar with the matter told WSJ.
The letter, which was sent by a new panel called Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, and addressed to Harvard President Alan M Garber, demanded that the university must make “meaningful” governance and leadership reforms; adhere to merit-based hiring and admissions by ceasing all preference, based on race, colour, religion, sex and nationality; and allow the federal government oversight of the ideology of students and staff. However, there was no agreement to keep the letter private, the report says.
Garber said, in a statement, that the university had “informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement.” Harvard will “not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights”.
According to people close to the university, the task force is escalating the fight to protect its reputation, reports WSJ.
Interestingly, a report in The New York Times (NYT) said that the letter should not have been sent and was unauthorised. Officials in the Trump administration were divided over the letter, with some believing it was sent prematurely and others saying it was not meant to be sent at all. However, a White House spokesperson said the administration stands behind the letter and its demands.
The task force expected Harvard to concede to its demands, like Columbia. The latter agreed to several demands by the Trump administration, including a ban on face masks, after it paused $400 million in federal funding over accusations that the university failed to fight antisemitism on campus.
Harvard’s decision to release the letter was seen as resistance.
What action has the Trump administration taken against Harvard?
The decision to stop health research funding is the latest blow to Harvard. Last week, the Trump administration paused $2.2 billion in funding. It has also threatened to strip the university of its tax-exempt status.
Last Tuesday, Trump wrote in a post on his social media site, Truth Social, questioning whether it should remain tax-exempt “if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting “Sickness?” Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!”
Tax-exempt status, which is decided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), is enjoyed by a majority of schools and universities in the US. It means that institutions do not pay certain kinds of taxes and that their donors receive a tax deduction when they make gifts.
The federal law prohibits the president from directing the IRS to conduct an investigation.
However, the revenue body is now reportedly making plans to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status. A final decision is expected soon.
A decision against Harvard would mark an escalation in Trump’s weaponisation of federal government agencies against institutions that stand up to him.
That’s not all.
The Department of Homeland Security has also threatened to block Harvard from enrolling foreign students. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent Harvard “a scathing letter demanding detailed records on Harvard’s foreign student visa holders’ illegal and violent activities by April 30, 2025, or face immediate loss of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification,” her agency said last Wednesday in a news release that referred to antisemitism but did not divulge details of specific incidents.
Harvard has 9,970 people in its international academic population, with 6,793 international students comprising 27.2 per cent of its enrollment in the 2024-25 academic year, according to the university data.
The university relies heavily on global enrollment, with many paying full tuition. This is an important source of revenue, especially since Harvard has announced that it would do away with fees for students from families earning less than $200,000.
On Thursday, the US administration demanded records on money it has received from foreign sources, reports WSJ. In the letter to Garber, the US Department of Education wrote that Harvard made “incomplete and inaccurate” disclosures between 2014 and 2019.
“Today’s records request is the Trump administration’s first step to ensure Harvard is not being manipulated by, or doing the bidding of, foreign entities,” US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement, according to the report. However, no evidence was presented of this.
The US federal law requires universities to report donations from foreign sources above $250,000, and Harvard has claimed it has been filing such reports.
Can Harvard withstand the fight with Trump?
Harvard is not only the oldest but also one of the richest institutions in the US. It boasts an endowment of $53 billion, which is bigger than the GDP of close to 100 countries. While the sum is huge, the university has to spend the money as directed by donors, or it faces the risk of legal liability.
The expenses of the university are massive as well; its operating budget was $6.4 billion. About a third of that was funded by endowment, with 16 per cent from the federal government, reports the BBC.
“Most policymakers think of endowments as a chequing account, a debit card where you can withdraw money and use it for any purpose,” Steven Bloom, the spokesperson for the American Council on Education, told the BBC. “But it’s not.”
According to him, 70 per cent of the money is earmarked for specific projects.
Bloom also said that more than five per cent of endowment cash should not be spent every year. To make up for the loss of $2.2 billion paused by Trump, the university will need to boost its endowment by $40 billion, the BBC report says.
It will only hurt the university further if the IRS withdraws the tax-exempt status. The school, which has campuses across Greater Boston, is estimated to have saved $158 million on its property tax bills in 2023, according to Bloomberg.
The fight with Trump, then, is expected to hurt Harvard.
What is next for Harvard?
Trump administration officials believe that Harvard did not want to negotiate and aimed to fight the whole time, WSJ reports. However, it is open to dialogue.
“Instead of grandstanding, Harvard should focus on rebuilding confidence among all students, particularly Jewish students. The White House remains open to dialogue, but serious changes are needed at Harvard,” the spokesperson said.
Harvard President Garber has hinted at possible legal action, challenging Trump for violating the university’s First Amendment right to free speech. He has accused the US administration of exceeding its powers under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits race discrimination in programmes supported by federal funding, reports the Guardian.
“Harvard cannot lose track of its own values. They must not do the Trump administration’s work for it, even when the pressure is intense,” said Ryan Enos, a political scientist and professor of government at Harvard.
Trump is not the one to back down. The fight is set to get uglier.
With inputs from agencies
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