Trump administration to review billions in Harvard funding

The administration of US President Donald Trump has announced that it is reviewing around $9 billion in federal grants and contracts awarded to Harvard University, accusing it of failing to address anti-Semitism on its campus.

The move reportedly comes in response to the way universities handled pro-Palestinian student protests against Israel’s attack on Gaza last year.

The White House said in a statement on Monday that it is reviewing over $255 million in contracts between Harvard and the US government to ensure compliance with civil rights laws. An additional $8.7 billion in grant commitments to the university and its affiliates will also be examined.

In February, the Justice Department formed a multi-agency task force focused on combating anti-Semitism, with the top priority being harassment in schools and universities. Officials said the group would coordinate federal law enforcement and “root out” anti-Semitic behavior on campuses nationwide.

Last month, the task force cut $400 million in funding for Columbia University and threatened to withhold billions more unless it complied with a list of demands from the Trump administration.

Earlier this month, Columbia agreed to many of the proposed changes, earning praise from Jewish organizations, while sparking criticism from free speech advocates who view the move as federal overreach.

“Harvard has served as a symbol of the American dream for generations – the pinnacle aspiration for students all over the world to work hard and earn admission to the storied institution,” US Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination – all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry – has put its reputation in serious jeopardy.”

Harvard President Alan Garber acknowledged that anti-Semitism exists on the university’s Cambridge campus, but said Harvard has taken steps to combat it.

“For the past fifteen months, we have devoted considerable effort to addressing anti-Semitism,” Garber said in a statement. “We have strengthened our rules and our approach to disciplining those who violate them.”

The crackdown follows a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that erupted last year at universities across the US, with students demanding an end to Washington’s support for Israel amid the war in Gaza.

Israel launched a large-scale offensive into Gaza following the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage. Over 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military response, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Columbia became a focal point of the protest movement in the US, alongside UC Berkeley, Harvard, Yale, Michigan, and Northwestern.