OAN Staff James Meyers
2:27 PM – Monday, April 14, 2025
Harvard University has rejected demands from the Trump administration as it threatens the school’s federal funding, with just over $9 billion on the line.
Advertisement
In a message from the Ivy League school’s leadership on Monday, the university said that while it is and will continue to engage in reforms, those changes should not be mandated by the Trump administration.
“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,” President Alan Garber said in his message.
This comes after the Trump administration threatened over 100 colleges across the country with funding cuts if changes in school policy weren’t made. Harvard’s move appears to be the first time an Ivy League University has denied the White House over those demands.
The mandates are calling for the elimination of Harvard’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, banning masks at campus protests, merit-based hiring and admissions reforms, and reducing the power held by faculty that is “more committed to activism than scholarship.”
The latest call for changes is another effort to combat universities that allowed anti-Semitic protests against Jewish students over the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza.
Garber said that the majority of demands “represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard.”
“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,” Garber said.
He asserted that the university has implemented a range of measures to address anti-Semitism and remains committed to resolving the issue. Garber also contended that the Trump administration is overreaching in its actions.
Fighting antisemitism on campus “will not be achieved by assertions of power, unmoored from the law, to control teaching and learning at Harvard and to dictate how we operate. The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community,” he said.
The Trump administration is currently conducting an ongoing investigation into $9 billion worth of federal contracts awarded to Harvard University.
For each revocation of funds, the administration has cited some civil rights violation against the school, typically either inaction against anti-Semitism or institution policies surrounding transgender athletes.
“The government’s terms also circumvent Harvard’s statutory rights by requiring unsupported and disruptive remedies for alleged harms that the government has not proven through mandatory processes established by Congress and required by law,” Harvard’s attorneys wrote.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Advertisements below
