By Gram Slattery and Jarrett Renshaw
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Education informed Harvard University on Monday that it was freezing billions of dollars in research grants and other aid until the elite university concedes to a number of demands from the Trump administration, a senior department official said.
The move represents the latest salvo from a Trump administration willing to use the power of the federal purse to force institutions – from law firms to universities – to make sweeping policy changes or else lose billions of dollars in federal grants and contracts.
It has targeted Harvard over allegations of antisemitism on campus during pro-Palestinian protests. The protests were sparked by U.S. ally Israel’s military assault on Gaza after the October 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has escalated its actions against Harvard.
It began a formal review into nearly $9 billion in federal funding for Harvard, demanded the university ban diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and crack down on some pro-Palestinian groups and masks in protests.
Harvard rejected numerous Trump demands last month, calling them an attack on free speech and academic freedom. It sued the Trump administration after it suspended about $2.3 billion in federal funding for the educational institution, while also pledging to tackle discrimination on campus.
Monday’s action by the Education Department now escalates the fight.
“The Trump administration won’t stand by as taxpayer dollars are used to support colleges that have tolerated antisemitism or that support racist policies,” a senior Education Department official said.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Gram Slattery; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Rosalba O’Brien)
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