United States President Donald Trump has ramped up his campaign against elite American universities, threatening to strip Harvard, one of the most prestigious institutions in the world, of its tax-exempt status unless it agrees to wide-ranging government oversight.
The move comes after Harvard publicly rejected what it called “unlawful” demands from the Trump administration, which included auditing political views on campus, banning diversity and inclusion programs, and selection of students and authority for professors.
Here’s why Trump has now set his sights on US universities.
Why is Trump now battling Harvard University?
At the centre of the standoff is Trump’s claim that US universities, including Harvard, have become rampant with uncontrolled antisemitism and support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The allegations are based on controversy at protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that swept across campuses last year. Trump has labelled the protests “antisemitic” and accused universities of peddling Marxism and “radical left” ideology.
In response, the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said it was freezing more than US$3 billion ($4.7 billion) in contracts and grants to Harvard, the country’s oldest and richest university.
Trump is also demanding an end to diversity, equity and inclusion programs, external oversight of departments accused of bias, and proof of “viewpoint diversity” in hiring and student admissions.
He posted on social media that Harvard should lose its tax-exempt status if it continues what he called “political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?'”.
But he did not say how he would do this. Under the US tax code, most universities are exempt from federal income tax because they are deemed to be “operated exclusively” for educational purposes.
How has Harvard responded?
Harvard president Alan Garber described the government’s demands as unprecedented “assertions of power, unmoored from the law” that violated constitutional free speech rights and the Civil Rights Act.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Garber wrote in a public letter.
Garber also said the school would not “negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights”.
Within hours of Harvard taking its stand, the Trump administration announced it was freezing US$2.3 billion ($3.6 billion) in federal funding to the school. Last month, the administration said it was reviewing US$9 billion ($14.2 billion) in federal contracts and grants.
It’s not the first school to come under fire.
This sets Harvard apart from other major institutions like fellow , which agreed to negotiations after the Trump administration said last month it had terminated grants and contracts worth US$400 million ($630 million) mostly for medical and other scientific research.
Some professors, students and university presidents have said the protests are being unfairly conflated with antisemitism as a pretext for an unconstitutional attack on academic freedoms.
Former US president Barack Obama also weighed in, publicly backing Harvard’s stance.
“Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions — rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom,” he wrote on X. “Let’s hope other institutions follow suit.”
What’s next?
Harvard University is the first university to stand up against the Trump administration, so much so that they may be willing to take it to court.
Meanwhile, Columbia University is preparing to hold “good faith” negotiations with the Trump administration to regain federal funding.
The standoff between the Trump administration and universities comes as he faces court challenges to his immigration policies and pushback from state attorneys-general trying to block his firing of government workers and suspension of trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans and financial support.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday, Trump wants Harvard to “apologise”.
“When it comes to Harvard, as I said, the president has been quite clear, they must follow federal law,” Leavitt said.
“He also wants to see Harvard apologise, and Harvard should apologise for the egregious antisemitism that took place on their college campus against Jewish American students.”
Harvard says it’s committed to combating antisemitism while protecting free speech, academic freedom, and viewpoint diversity.
“Over the past fifteen months, we have taken many steps to address antisemitism on our campus. We plan to do much more,” Garber said.
— With additional reporting by the Reuters news agency.
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