Trump Administration Freezes Harvard Funding Over “Leftist” Stance, Anti-Semitism Concerns

Harvard University is locked in a high-stakes battle with the Trump administration, which has frozen $2.3 billion in federal funding after the university refused to cede control to what it described as a politically motivated power grab, as per Al Jazeera.

The move comes amidst a wider crackdown on universities by the administration, which alleges widespread anti-Semitism on college campuses and criticizes what it sees as a dangerous leftist bias.

The freeze on Harvard’s funding follows last month’s announcement that the administration was reviewing $9 billion in federal contracts and grants to the institution, citing concerns over anti-Semitism that arose during pro-Palestinian and anti-Gaza war protests over the past 18 months.

Harvard President Alan Garber publicly denounced the administration’s demands as an attempt to “control the Harvard community” and threaten the school’s “values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production and dissemination of knowledge.” In a defiant letter, Garber rejected the government’s stipulations, which reportedly included reporting foreign students for code violations, reforming its governance and leadership, discontinuing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and altering hiring and admission policies, especially for international students. He deemed such interference “unprecedented” and “beyond the power of the federal government.”

The US Department of Education’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism responded with a written statement accusing Harvard of exhibiting a “troubling entitlement mindset,” arguing that “federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws.”

The Harvard situation is part of a broader trend of the Trump administration targeting universities with funding cuts and policy demands. Just weeks ago, on March 7, Columbia University was stripped of $400 million in grants and contracts for allegedly allowing “relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment” on its campus.

The administration has also taken action against individual students involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Deportation proceedings have reportedly begun against several detained foreign students, and visas for hundreds of others have been cancelled.