Trump administration freezes $2.2 billion Harvard funding for refusal to curb campus activism

United States President Donald Trump’s administration has frozen more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University after the institution said it would defy demands to overhaul its policies and curb activism on campus, reported AP.

The action came hours after Harvard rejected a sweeping list of requirements from the White House ostensibly aimed at combating antisemitism and reforming university governance, admissions and hiring practices.

“Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges,” the US Department of Education said in a statement.

The White House had sent an “updated and expanded list of demands” on Friday, warning that Harvard “must comply” to maintain its “financial relationship” with the federal government, Harvard President Alan Garber said in a letter to the university community on Monday.

“We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement,” Garber wrote. “The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.”

Garber added that Harvard did not “take lightly” its obligation to fight antisemitism, but said many of the government’s demands amounted to overreach. “Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental...

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