The Trump administration on Monday barred Harvard University from receiving any new federal research grants. Education Secretary Linda McMahon conveyed in a sharply worded letter to the president of Harvard, Alan M. Garber. This is the Trump administration’s most pointed action against one of the nation’s most prestigious academic institutions.
“This letter is to inform you that Harvard should no longer seek grants from the federal government, since none will be provided,” McMahon wrote to Harvard President Alan M. Garber. She accused the university of “disastrous mismanagement” and stated the institution had abandoned core academic values.
This move comes as Harvard challenges the federal government in court over the suspension of billions in funding, after refusing to comply with demands McMahon called essential for accountability.
“Harvard University has made a mockery of this country’s higher education system. It has invited foreign students, who engage in violent behaviour and slur contempt for the United States of America, to its campus. In every way, Harvard has failed to abide by its legal obligations, its ethical and fiduciary duties, its transparency responsibilities, and any semblance of academic rigour. It had scrapped standardised testing requirements and a normalised grading system,” she wrote.
She alleged Harvard of embroiling in humiliating plagiarism scandals. “Harvard has even been embroiled in humiliating plagiarism scandals, exposed clearly and plainly in the media, with respect to your then University President, who was an embarrassment to our Nation. Much of Harvard’s hateful discrimination was revealed, last year, by the great work of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, and her Committee. As if it were trying to embarrass itself even further. Harvard hired failed Mayors Bell De Blasio and Lori Lightfoot, perhaps the worst mayors ever to preside over major cities in our country’s history, to supposedly teach “leadership” at their School of Public Health. This is like hiring the captain of the Titanic te teach navigation to future captains of the sea,” she added.
The move by the administration seems to mark a change in its tack in regulating elite institutions. Previous attempts at recalling research grants had been met with legal challenges, including Harvard, which relied on both the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act in filing its lawsuit. Now, by aiming at upcoming grants, the administration might be trying a different strategy—one that could prove harder to challenge in court.
In her three-page letter, McMahon wrote, “At its best, a university should fulfill the highest ideals of our nation, and enlighten the thousands of hopeful students who walk through its magnificent gates, but Harvard has betrayed its ideal.”
HARVARD RESPONDS: UNPRECEDENTED AND IMPROPER CONTROL
Harvard was quick to respond. In a statement released Monday night, the university accused the Trump administration of doubling down on political interference.
“The letter shows the administration doubling down on demands that would impose unprecedented and improper control over Harvard University and would have chilling implications for higher education,” the university said. It further insisted that the government’s approach was illegal.
“Harvard will continue to comply with the law, promote and encourage respect for viewpoint diversity, and combat antisemitism in our community,” the statement continued. “Harvard will also continue to defend against illegal government overreach aimed at stifling research and innovation that make Americans safer and more secure.”
This is the latest escalation in the conflict between the Trump administration and elite universities. The government recently sent Harvard a list of demands. These were to screen professors for plagiarism, report any foreign students who have been accused of misconduct, and hire an outside official to ensure diverse political opinions are represented within faculty departments.
Though officials later claimed the list had been sent in error, tensions have only mounted. President Garber warned that the administration’s actions could have “severe and long lasting” consequences for both Harvard and the research field.
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