Trump says he’ll revoke tax-exempt standing for Harvard College
The Trump administration has threatened to freeze $2 billion in federal funding after not agreeing to a listing of calls for from the administration.
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is reducing off new federal analysis grants to Harvard College, in yet one more escalation of the White Home’s assault on one of many nation’s most prestigious faculties.
Schooling Secretary Linda McMahon despatched a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber on Could 5 informing him that the federal authorities would now not approve any new analysis grants.
She cited issues over antisemitic incidents on campus as a foundation for refusing to proceed offering taxpayer {dollars} to fund the college’s world-class analysis.
“This letter is to tell you that Harvard ought to now not search GRANTS from the federal authorities, since none will probably be supplied,” McMahon wrote within the letter to Garber, who’s Jewish. “Harvard will stop to be a publicly funded establishment, and may as a substitute function as a privately-funded establishment, drawing on its colossal endowment, and elevating cash from its giant base of rich alumni.”
The change wouldn’t finish all federal funding to Harvard, nevertheless. A senior Schooling Division official mentioned Monday on a name with reporters that solely analysis funding can be impacted. Federal scholar monetary help can be unaffected, he mentioned.
After Harvard refused to abide by authorities calls for to overtake its hiring, instructing and admissions practices, the White Home froze greater than $2 billion price of the college’s federal analysis funding in April. Accusing the Trump administration of encroaching on educational freedom, Harvard’s management sued.
“This case includes the Authorities’s efforts to make use of the withholding of federal funding as leverage to achieve management of educational decisionmaking at Harvard,” the college mentioned in its lawsuit.
Harvard didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Monday’s letter.
Zachary Schermele is an schooling reporter for USA TODAY. You may attain him by electronic mail at zschermele@usatoday.com. Observe him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.