Egypt Daily News – The U.S. Department of Education has frozen more than $2 billion in federal funding for Harvard University after the institution rejected demands from the Trump administration to make significant changes to its policies, limit political activity on campus, and eliminate anti-Semitism.
A report from the Department’s Office for Combating Anti-Semitism stated that over $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts allocated to Harvard were frozen after the prestigious educational institution announced on Monday, April 14, 2025, that it would not comply with the Trump administration’s demands.
This move represents a new level of conflict between the Trump administration and U.S. universities, which it has accused of being controlled by the far-left, according to media reports.
The Trump administration had previously frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for universities and pressured them to change their policies, claiming a failure to combat anti-Semitism on campuses.
Harvard University rejected the Trump administration’s demand to end diversity efforts and take other actions the university argued would stifle academic freedom for faculty and students in exchange for federal funding.
Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in an open letter that the demands presented by the Department of Education last week would allow the federal government to “take control of the Harvard community” and threaten “the university’s values as a private institution dedicated to producing and disseminating knowledge.”
He added, “No government should dictate what independent universities can study, who they can hire or admit, or what fields of study and research they can pursue.”
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields stated in a press release on Monday that Trump “is working to make higher education great again by ending unchecked anti-Semitism and ensuring that taxpayers’ federal funds are not used to support Harvard’s dangerous racism or racially motivated violence.”
In a letter, the Department of Education stated that Harvard “did not fulfill the civil and intellectual rights conditions that justify federal investment.”
The letter also outlined the need for the university to comply by August with hiring faculty and admitting students solely based on merit, ending any race- or color-based preferences. The university must also screen international students “to prevent the admission of individuals who oppose American values” and notify federal immigration authorities about foreign students who violate behavioral rules.
The updated demands also included banning the wearing of masks, which appeared to be directed at pro-Palestinian protesters, according to American media reports.
The administration is pressuring the university to stop recognizing or funding “any student group or club that supports or promotes criminal activity, illegal violence, or illegal harassment.”
