President Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday that his administration is considering pulling federal grant money from Harvard University, expressing frustration with the school’s resistance to certain White House mandates regarding campus governance and policies on speech.
“And it looks like we are not going to be giving them any more grants, right Linda?” Trump said, addressing Education Secretary Linda McMahon, according to Reuters.
He followed up by saying, “A grant is at our discretion and they are really not behaving well. So it’s too bad.”
Harvard University and the Department of Education did not immediately respond to media requests for comment on the President’s statements.
The conflict between the Trump administration and Harvard has grown increasingly strained, especially in the wake of student protests related to the ongoing war in Gaza. Officials in the administration have accused the university of enabling antisemitism during demonstrations that criticized Israel’s response to the October 2023 Hamas attack.
Recently, the federal government announced it would halt $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard, citing the university’s failure to adequately combat antisemitic incidents on campus.
That decision followed Harvard President Alan Garber’s declaration that the university would not go along with certain demands issued by the administration.
Reports later revealed that the White House is preparing to freeze an additional $1 billion in funding, after Harvard made public the details of a letter outlining government expectations—details the administration says were supposed to remain confidential.
In response to the funding freeze, Harvard filed a lawsuit challenging the administration’s actions.
This week, Harvard released two internal reports reviewing last year’s demonstrations. The reviews documented instances of discrimination targeting Jewish, Muslim, and Arab students, with some students reporting they felt silenced or excluded for sharing their political opinions.
{Matzav.com}