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The Trump administration has said it will block Harvard from eligibility for new federal government research grants, escalating its attack on the elite university.
Education secretary Linda McMahon will write to Harvard’s president on Monday evening, according to a senior department official, stating that the university “is not eligible for any new grant from the federal government until they demonstrate responsible management”.
The decision is the latest broadside from US President Donald Trump against Harvard and other elite universities that he has accused of promoting progressive politics and fostering a culture of “wokeness” on campus.
Last week Trump said he would scrap Harvard’s tax-exempt status. He had previously announced plans to strip more than $2.2bn in federal funding from the university, prompting it to launch legal action against the administration.
Monday’s announcement comes after hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman — who last year led a successful campaign to unseat Harvard’s former president, Claudine Gay — renewed his own attack on the university and suggested it should not have sued the government.
“What Harvard should have done is say: President Trump — you make some good points. Taxpayer money coming to Harvard is a privilege, not a right,” said Ackman.
In her letter, McMahon will accuse the university of failing to address antisemitism on campus, tolerating discrimination, abandoning academic rigour and lacking a diversity of viewpoints, according to the senior department official.
The block on funding would last until the resolution of federal government investigations into the university, the official said. They added that this could be expedited if the university were to “open up a broader negotiation” with the administration.
Harvard did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Andrew Jack
