PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: The Trump administration has announced an additional $450 million cut in federal grants to Harvard University, citing issues of liberal bias and antisemitism.

👥 Who’s Involved: The Trump administration, President Donald J. Trump, Harvard University, the U.S. Department of Education, and Harvard President Alan Garber.

📍 Where & When: Washington, D.C., and Harvard University, announcement made on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.

💬 Key Quote: “There is a dark problem on Harvard’s campus, and by prioritizing appeasement over accountability, institutional leaders have forfeited the school’s claim to taxpayer support,” stated a federal antisemitism task force.

⚠️ Impact: Harvard faces a freeze on $2.2 billion in federal funds, the loss of an additional $450 million in grants, and potential revocation of its tax-exempt status and foreign student program eligibility.

IN FULL:

The Trump administration has announced an additional $450 million cut in federal grants to Harvard University, intensifying its pressure campaign against the Ivy League institution over its toleration of anti-conservative bias, antisemitism, and noncompliance with federal rules. A letter sent on Tuesday to the university from a federal antisemitism task force confirmed the cuts to grants and reiterated that an additional $2.2 billion in federal funding for Harvard remains frozen due to the intransigence of the academic institution’s leadership.

According to the letter, Harvard continues to foster a culture of “virtue signaling and discrimination” and criticizes its leadership for failing to address ongoing issues. “There is a dark problem on Harvard’s campus, and by prioritizing appeasement over accountability, institutional leaders have forfeited the school’s claim to taxpayer support,” the letter states.

The Trump administration has been increasingly critical of Harvard, particularly after the university openly defied federal directives to curtail pro-Hamas demonstrations and eliminate discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Last week, the Department of Education announced that Harvard would not receive any new federal grants until it complies with government rules and stipulations, which include leadership changes, revised admissions policies, and audits to ensure ideological diversity.

President Donald J. Trump has also called for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has threatened to revoke the university’s eligibility to host foreign students. Even House Republicans are taking umbrage with Harvard and have included increased taxation of non-religious university endowments in their budget reconciliation bill. Notably, Harvard and other elite U.S. universities have long been criticized for managing their endowments less like academic institutions and more like hedge funds, leading to calls for them to be treated for tax purposes as the latter.

In response, Harvard President Alan Garber has disputed the allegations, describing the sanctions as an “unlawful attempt to control fundamental aspects of our university’s operations.” Garber insisted that the university is nonpartisan and has taken measures to address antisemitism on campus. Currently, the university is suing the Trump administration over the funding freeze.

Image by Adam Fagen.