On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, the Trump administration revealed that eight federal agencies will terminate an additional $430 million in grants to Harvard University.
This follows last week’s cancellation of $2.2 billion in federal funding, bringing the total funding cut to $2.63 billion, reported Hindustan Times.
In a letter sent to Harvard last week, US Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced the cessation of federal funding, stating, “Harvard will cease to be a publicly funded institution and can instead rely on its substantial endowment and wealthy alumni for financial support.”
McMahon criticised Harvard’s handling of alleged widespread antisemitism on campus, and raised concerns about its admission practices, questioning, “Where do many of these ‘students’ come from, who are they, and how do they get into Harvard — or even into our country — and why is there so much HATE?”
Initial funding freeze
The administration had previously frozen $2.3 billion in funding last month, due to Harvard’s failure to address antisemitism effectively.
Harvard’s response
A Harvard spokesperson responded to McMahon’s letter, asserting that the university would protect its community from the government's intervention. He said, “Today’s letter makes new threats to illegally withhold funding for lifesaving research and innovation in retaliation against Harvard for filing its lawsuit on April 21. Harvard will continue to comply with the law, promote and encourage respect for viewpoint diversity, and combat antisemitism in our community. Harvard will also continue to defend against illegal government overreach aimed at stifling research and innovation that make Americans safer and more secure.”
Following the initial $2.3 billion funding freeze, Harvard issued a public statement refusing to comply with the Trump administration’s demands. In a letter on Friday, May 9, the university’s administration stated, “Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges - that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws.”
