By AP News
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
The hold on Harvard’s funding marks the seventh time the Trump administration has taken the step at one of the nation’s most elite colleges, as they argue universities allowed antisemitism to go unchecked at campus protests last year against Israel’s war in Gaza. Trump’s administration has normalized the extraordinary step of withholding federal money to pressure major academic institutions to comply with the president’s political agenda and to influence campus policy. Read more.
What to know:
In a letter to Harvard Friday, Trump’s administration had called for broad government and leadership reforms at the university, as well as changes to its admissions policies. It also demanded the university audit views of diversity on campus, and stop recognizing some student clubs. The federal government said almost $9 billion in grants and contracts in total was at risk if Harvard did not comply.
On Monday, Harvard President Alan Garber said the university would not bend to the government’s demands. “The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Garber said in a letter to the Harvard community. “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.” Hours later, the government froze billions in Harvard’s federal funding. 
