Harvard prez ‘didn't come back to the table' – decided to sue – after positive talks with Trump admin, Education Secretary Linda McMahon says
Harvard University refused to 'come back to the table' after the president of the Ivy League school initially had a positive conversation with the Trump administration about cracking down on antisemitism on campus, Education Secretary Linda McMahon revealed Tuesday.
'I talked to Alan Garber, the president of Harvard … He wanted to make sure there were no antisemitism actions that were taking place on his campus,' McMahon told 'Cats & Cosby Show' hosts John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby on WABC radio.
The education secretary didn't say when her phone conversation with Garber took place, but indicated it was before Harvard filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday seeking to unfreeze over $2.2 billion in federal grants.
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3 The Trump administration froze billions of dollars in federal grants to Harvard earlier this month after the university refused to enact reforms to combat antisemitism.
AFP via Getty Images
'We also talked about other aspects of negotiations, relative to doing some vetting for teachers who are coming in and students who are coming into Harvard, because there are a lot of outside agitators that are coming in and causing a lot of the disruptions on campus,' McMahon claimed.
'We thought we were in a good place,' she added. 'We were exchanging negotiations back-and-forth, and then Harvard didn't come back to the table.'
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'Their answer was they sued.'
Garber has accused the Trump administration of seeking 'unprecedented and improper control' over campus affairs to keep the federal funds flowing.
'These actions have stark real-life consequences for patients, students, faculty, staff, researchers, and the standing of American higher education in the world,' Garber said in a statement released when the lawsuit was filed. 'The consequences of the government's overreach will be severe and long-lasting.'
The Trump administration's task force on antisemitism sent an April 11 email to Harvard outlining several policies aimed at clamping down on alleged antisemitism as well as diversity and gender programs that the institution must pursue if it wishes to continue to have access to federal funds.
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'I still hope that they'll come back to the table,' McMahon said of Harvard. 'I think it's for the good of the students on their own campus, and for taxpayers that are funding a lot of these programs at universities and have a right to say how some of that money is spent or not spent.'
Harvard did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.
3 McMahon said she hopes Harvard decides to come back to the negotiating table.
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3 McMahon said she had a positive phone conversation with Garber before Harvard decided to sue the Trump administration.
Harvard University
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The Trump administration has targeted several Ivy League schools as part of its efforts to combat antisemitism.
Last month, Columbia University caved to Trump's demands for reforms in a bid to end the funding freeze.
The Trump administration also paused some $210 million in federal funding to Princeton University while it investigates potential antisemitism on campus.
McMahon said President Trump 'was not going to sit still and watch antisemitism and actual civil rights being destroyed' on college campuses.
'You can't lock students in the library and be pounding on the glass with signs outside saying 'Death to America. Death to Israel' … Some of the [colleges] pushed back and said, 'Well, they're trying to cut down our First Amendment rights.' Absolutely not! This is not a First Amendment issue. This is a civil rights issue, and a protection of safety issue for these students on campus,' she added.
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