President Donald Trump’s administration is ramping up its war against Harvard.
The White House announced Monday evening that Education Secretary Linda McMahon was sending a letter to Harvard’s President Dr. Alan Garber saying that ‘Harvard is not eligible for any new grants from the federal government until they demonstrate responsible management at the university,’ a senior Education Department official said.
The official spoke on-background with reporters to discuss the administration’s plans.
Research grants would be the ones impacted – not federal student aid, which funnels through universities before providing students with financial relief.
‘And for Harvard to become eligible for those competitions again, it would have to enter into a negotiation with the government to satisfy what the government says is in compliance with all federal laws,’ the official said.
The official railed against Harvard’s ‘terrible behavior’ saying that the Ivy League institution had failed in four main areas – with anti-Semitism being at the top of the list.
Trump has been critical of universities that allowed pro-Palestinian demonstrations to run amok.
Trump administration officials have also taken issue with what they consider to be lack of diversity – with too few conservatives on staff.
‘They have become monolithically leftist and that DEI ideology connects to the anti-Semitism problem because they’re teaching young people to make snap judgments about each other based on identity and skin color,’ the senior official said.
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People enter and exit the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachussetts
Education Secretary Linda McMahon has penned a letter to Harvard’s president threatening to withhold all new federal grants
The official said the two other areas where Harvard has failed include academic rigor and racial discrimination.
‘The Trump administration won’t stand by as taxpayer dollars are used to support colleges that tolerate anti-Semitism or that support racist policies,’ the official continued.
The latest move represents a major escalation in a months-long war against the prominent institution.
Trump previously froze $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard and he said he’s looking into stripping the Ivy of its tax-exempt status.
During Monday night’s call with reporters, the Department of Education official said that Harvard’s endowment is ‘virtually untaxed’ and ‘massive.’
‘It’s larger than the GDP of many countries and it was only possible for them to amass that thanks to the blessings of this country that they do business in,’ the official said.
Garber has previously said he won’t bend to the government.
The university sued last month to overturn the funding freeze, pushing back against the government’s ‘sweeping and intrusive demands.’
