Key Points – The Trump administration is escalating its punitive measures against Harvard University, reportedly for resisting federal demands on issues like hiring and curriculum after initial accusations of failing to curb antisemitism.
-Recent actions include removing Harvard’s tax-exempt status, cancelling billions in government contracts and research grants, and attempting to bar international students (a move temporarily blocked by court order).
-President Trump this week also floated redirecting $3 billion in Harvard grant money to trade schools. While Harvard is fighting these unprecedented actions legally, analysts suggest the university faces a severe crisis with few good options, as it remains “persona non grata” with the administration.
Trump vs. Harvard Heats Up
Donald Trump, since returning to office, has engaged in a nearly unprecedented effort to punish Harvard University. The goal is ostensibly to punish Harvard for failing to sufficiently cut down on antisemitism, but it has gone far beyond that.
The Trump Administration has made demands of various elite universities, on everything from hiring to curriculum, but Harvard has fought back and refused.
“The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the government’s terms as an agreement in principle,” Harvard’s attorneys wrote in a mid-April letter.
As a result, the Trump Administration has cracked down further on Harvard. They have removed Harvard’s tax-exempt status, have pulled government contracts and research grants, worth billions of dollars, with the Administration announcing Tuesday that they will cancel the rest of the government’s contracts with the university.
They have also announced that they will immediately bar Harvard from enrolling international students, including telling the 7,000 current international students, most of whom are in graduate programs, that they must transfer to other schools.
All of this, needless to say, is without precedent and also of questionable legality.
The Trade School Proposal
Also, this week, the president announced another possible punishment for Harvard.
Trump said on Truth Social that he was “considering” taking $3 billion from money that had previously gone to Harvard, and instead giving it to trade schools.
“I am considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land. What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!,” Trump wrote in the Monday post.
It’s worth noting that most of Trump’s anti-Harvard actions, including the foreign student ban, have just been announced as he has done them, rather than Trump announcing that he is “considering” doing them.
Also on Truth Social on Monday, Trump said that some of Harvard’s foreign students are “radicalized lunatics.”
“We are still waiting for the Foreign Student Lists from Harvard so that we can determine, after a ridiculous expenditure of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, how many radicalized lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country. Harvard is very slow in the presentation of these documents, and probably for good reason!,” Trump said in the post.
What Can Harvard Do?
Harvard has made multiple moves in court to try to stop the Trump Administration’s actions. Most recently, the university has sued, specifically over the foreign student ban, and has managed to obtain a temporary restraining order blocking the ban.
“The revocation continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal government’s illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body,” Harvard President Alan Garber said in a statement after the foreign student ban was announced.
“We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action. It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams.”
However, Harvard may not be able to sue their way out of the fight with Trump.
“No Way Out”
As noted in a New York Times piece over the weekend, the Trump Administration holds most of the cards in its fight with Harvard.
“Harvard officials have privately determined they are in a major, major, major crisis with very few, if any, good off ramps,” reporter Michael Schmidt said in the analysis. “Even if Harvard runs the table in court, it’s still persona non grata with the Trump administration, and that means that it’s going to continue to face investigations, including from the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security.”
About the Author
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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