Here's everything Trump has stripped from Harvard so far — and what is threatened

Yahoo

23-05-2025

The national battle between Harvard University and the Trump administration didn't start this week. The back and forth between the two has been in the works since the beginning of April.
The federal government has pinpointed campus antisemitism as the reason for the escalating attacks, though legal scholars and higher education community members have disagreed, claiming it is instead going after Harvard as a symbol of higher education.
Concerns around campus antisemitism have been at a fever pitch since the war in Gaza began on Oct. 7. Harvard's first Black president, Claudine Gay, took office in 2023 and subsequently resigned after six months in the post amid the war in Gaza — in part over her response to the issue.
Harvard has said it has made steps toward addressing antisemitism on campus, including creating task forces on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias and anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias.
Those groups released reports at the end of April detailing the discrimination that has taken place since the war in Gaza and recommendations for what should happen next.
'The 2023-24 academic year was disappointing and painful. I am sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community. The grave, extensive impact of the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel and its aftermath had serious repercussions on our campus‚' said Alan Garber, Harvard's president, in a message to the community.
The most recent action from the Trump administration against Harvard took place this week when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security revoked a key certification allowing Harvard to enroll international students.
In response, Harvard filed a complaint and a motion for a restraining order on Friday morning. A federal judge then granted the order.
The revocation came after the federal government gave Harvard an ultimatum in April to submit detailed records about foreign students or lose the certification.
About 27% of Harvard's undergraduate and graduate students are international, according to 2024 to 2025 data.
While Harvard said they gave 'information required by law' about foreign students' illegal activity and records at the end of April, U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said it was unsatisfactory.
Harvard will have another opportunity if it provides detailed records about international students within 72 hours, according to Noem's letter.
The university already offered foreign students to accept admission at Harvard and a foreign institution as a 'backup plan' following the threat of revocation.
Outside of the revocation of Harvard's certification to host international students, the Trump administration has gone after billions of dollars of funding to Harvard.
It began in April when the Trump administration demanded an overhaul of its leadership structure, admissions and hiring — or risk losing $9 billion in funding, according to the federal government.
Harvard rejected those demands, stating that the Trump administration's list of demands looks to 'invade university freedoms long recognized by the Supreme Court.'
Then the fight over funding came to fruition.
It began with a $2.2 billion funding freeze on April 14 after the school refused to comply with the federal administration's demands.
In response, Harvard filed a lawsuit on April 21, arguing that its constitutional rights had been violated by the government's threats to pull billions of dollars in funding.
Read more: Harvard foreign students feel like 'poker chips,' consider transfer after Trump attacks
Harvard president Garber also signed onto a letter with hundreds of other presidents pushing back against 'government overreach and political interference' by the Trump administration.
At the beginning of May, the Trump administration said it would bar Harvard University from acquiring new federal grants while the university continues to refuse to comply with the administration's demands for change on its campus.
A few days later, eight federal agencies cut $450 million in grants and then the United States Department of Health and Human Services cut $60 million in grants from the university.
Harvard went on to amend its lawsuit against the Trump administration.
On May 16, a wave of nearly one thousand federal research grant terminations began, amounting to more than $2.4 billion, according to an analysis by Nature.
In response, Harvard established a new Presidential Priorities Fund, asking for donations in the midst of federal cuts.
Some of Harvard's schools, including its School of Public Health, have even taken to social media to ask for donations after nearly every single federal grant had been terminated.
On Monday, multiple U.S. House committees also began investigating Harvard, accusing the institution of collaborating with the Chinese Communist Party, according to a 14-page letter.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is requesting a series of information about Harvard's activities that 'create risks to U.S. national security and further the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) genocide in Xinjiang.'
On April 17, the U.S. Department of Education sent Harvard University a records request on Thursday, demanding that the institution disclose foreign investments.
Read more: This is how much Harvard University's top earners made, according to tax filings
McMahon called the records request the 'first step to ensure Harvard is not being manipulated by, or doing the bidding of, foreign entities.'
Higher education institutions are required to disclose foreign source gifts and contracts with a value of $250,000 or more to the U.S. Department of Education through Section 117 reports.
Harvard said it has been doing so for decades as part of ongoing compliance with the law.
Around the same time, Trump threatened to end Harvard's tax-exempt status, which he has continued to say he will do, aiming for the institution to instead be taxed as a political entity.
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Read the original article on MassLive.