Harvard University is facing major backlash from President Donald Trump, who recently froze over $2.2 billion in federal funding for the university and pushed to remove the school’s tax-exempt status.
This decision comes after Trump criticized colleges across the country, including Harvard, for not protecting their students’ civil rights and fostering DEI initiatives. He specifically mentioned the lack of action for the mistreatment of Jewish students during last year’s protests of the war on Gaza on campuses.
The Trump Administration announced the federal freezing of funds on April 14 after Harvard rejected a list of demands the federal government gave them in accordance with the president’s threats. Some of these demands included removing DEI programs, making changes to admissions and hiring and requiring the university to submit to audits. The administration sent a letter saying that if the school didn’t comply, funding would be withheld; according to the New York Times, the sending of the letter was “unauthorized.”
The university promptly rejected the government’s demands, with the Harvard University President Alan Garber writing, “The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.” He also added that “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
Thus, the federal government announced that it was withdrawing $2.2 billion in federal funding from Harvard.
Following this, on April 21, Harvard filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration in federal court in Boston arguing that the federal government had trampled on the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act, a law that governs the actions of federal agencies.
In addition to the federal funding being withheld, Trump also threatened the college’s tax-exempt status. Trump took to Truth Social, writing, “
We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!”
While no action has been taken yet on that threat, an additional $450 million in funding was cut along on May 13, adding to the $2.2 billion total. According to Harvard University, in fiscal year 2025, 46% of the school’s total budget came from federal funding, so these cuts will have a detrimental impact on research at the school.
The Trump Administration isn’t just focusing on Harvard as well. It has withdrawn funding from many colleges and universities around the country for alleged civil rights violations in an effort to eliminate DEI initiatives in these institutions. The administration cut $400 million in federal grants due to pro-Palestine protests on the Columbia University campus. It also froze about $1 billion in funding for Cornell University and about $790 million for Northwestern University for similar reasons.
With mounting pressure from the government, universities nationwide now stand at the center of a national struggle over free speech, equity and institutional autonomy.
