The Trump administration is pulling out all the stops to try to get Harvard University to cave to its demands.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
After the Ivy League university said it would not change its hiring and admissions policies or eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion, President Trump, who accused the school of failing to act against antisemitism, declared war by hitting multiple avenues of funding and launching investigations seeking to further weaken the institution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harvard has shown it is ready to fight, already filing at least one lawsuit against the Trump administration\u2019s actions, but has warned in the interim the funding cuts will be devastating to medical and technological advancement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here are things Trump has done \u2014 or tried to do \u2014 to the nation’s oldest school after it rejected his demands:<\/p>\n
The first line of attack<\/a> came with a $2.2 billion research funding pause on April 14, soon after Harvard announced the federal government\u2019s demands were a nonstarter and illegal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNo government \u2014 regardless of which party is in power \u2014 should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,\u201d Harvard University President Alan Garber said.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Harvard has said it will work with the administration on combatting campus antisemitism, it will not give up its independence.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHarvard\u2019s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation\u2019s most prestigious universities and colleges \u2014 that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws,\u201d the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said when the funding was pulled.\u00a0<\/p>\n Harvard quickly sued the administration, with a court date set for July.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem threatened to ban Harvard<\/a> from admitting any more foreign students on April 17.<\/p>\n Noem said Harvard had to hand over records about foreign students who have been involved in illegal or violent activity by April 30 to avoid the consequences. There has been no update from the secretary on this issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n The DHS said it will also cancel two grants to the school worth $2.7 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHarvard bending the knee to antisemitism \u2014 driven by its spineless leadership \u2014 fuels a cesspool of extremist riots and threatens our national security,\u201d Noem said. \u201cWith anti-American, pro-Hamas ideology poisoning its campus and classrooms, Harvard\u2019s position as a top institution of higher learning is a distant memory. America demands more from universities entrusted with taxpayer dollars.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n On April 18, the Education Department requested records<\/a> from Harvard regarding allegations of “incomplete and inaccurate” foreign financial disclosures.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is requesting a list of all gifts and grants from all foreign sources, data regarding all expelled foreign students since 2016, information regarding all faculty affiliated with or from a foreign country and those involved in the expulsion of foreign students, among other things.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Universities need to disclose financial gifts valued at more than $250,000 annually.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs a recipient of federal funding, Harvard University must be transparent about its relations with foreign sources and governments. Unfortunately, our review indicated that Harvard has not been fully transparent or complete in its disclosures, which is both unacceptable and unlawful,\u201d McMahon said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Departments of Education and Health and Human Services launched a Title VI investigation<\/a> against Harvard and the Harvard Law Review on April 28 over alleged race-based discrimination\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHarvard Law Review\u2019s article selection process appears to pick winners and losers on the basis of race, employing a spoils system in which the race of the legal scholar is as, if not more, important than the merit of the submission,\u201d Department of Education acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said.\u00a0<\/p>\n One editor of the Harvard Law Review allegedly said, \u201ca piece should be subject to expedited review because the author was a minority\u201d while another said it was concerned that many of the students who wanted to reply to an article about police reform \u201care white men.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTitle VI\u2019s demands are clear: recipients of federal financial assistance may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. No institution\u2014no matter its pedigree, prestige, or wealth\u2014is above the law. The Trump Administration will not allow Harvard, or any other recipients of federal funds, to trample on anyone\u2019s civil rights,\u201d Trainor said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Arguably the most dangerous risk so far to the university is Trump threatening to revoke<\/a> its tax-exempt status.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to be taking away Harvard\u2019s Tax Exempt Status. It\u2019s what they deserve!\u201d he wrote on May 2 on Truth Social.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n If Harvard had its tax-exempt status taken away, it would owe money on some of its over $50 billion endowment, federal, state, local and property taxes, significantly affecting the Ivy League school’s finances.\u00a0<\/p>\n Legal experts say Trump\u2019s threat alone could be breaking the law as the president is not allowed to direct or even disclose IRS investigations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe government has long exempted universities from taxes in order to support their educational mission. The tax exemption means that more of every dollar can go toward scholarships for students, lifesaving and life-enhancing medical research, and technological advancements that drive economic growth. There is no legal basis to rescind Harvard\u2019s tax-exempt status,\u201d a Harvard spokesperson said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nAdmin threatens to take away Harvard\u2019s ability to admit foreign students<\/h2>\n
Education Department requests foreign disclosure records<\/h2>\n
Title VI investigation into Harvard, Harvard Law Review\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Trump threatens tax-exempt status\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Harvard can\u2019t apply for new research grants\u00a0<\/h2>\n