Trump administration has announced that it will investigate about $ 9 billion in federal contracts and subsidies for Harvard University, expanding an investigation into campus anti -Semitism that also affects Columbia University’s funds.
Harvard contract review includes US $ 255.6 million in contracts and $ 8.7 billion in subsidies, as informed by a working group of government agencies, including the Department of Education and the US Health and Human Services Department.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Harvard failed to protect her students from “anti -Semitic discrimination” and promoted “divisive ideologies over free investigation.”
The Trump administration has intensified scrutiny over the country’s universities, especially after protests by pro-Palestinas student last year, in response to Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the retaliation of the Jewish state in Gaza. This repression has generated concerns between some institutions about the possibility of the government being suppressing freedom of expression and confusing criticism of Israel with anti -Semitism.
Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the situation.
At Columbia University, administration canceled US $ 400 million in federal subsidies and contracts earlier this month. Days before the back of the funds, the administration notified the institution that it was revising financing as part of investigations into possible civil rights violations.
Continues after advertising
Columbia has agreed to meet a series of government demands in an attempt to restore federal funding, including the prohibition of masks, expanding police powers on campus and a review of its Middle East Studies Department, Southern Asia and Africa. Columbia’s interim president Katrina Armstrong renounced abruptly last week.
Founded in 1636, Harvard is the oldest and most rich university in the US, and this funding revision should further intensify the Trump Administration’s impasse with the country’s Higher Education Institutions. Universities also face financial threats related to their diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as well as support to transgender athletes, which led to programs, layoffs, and a more rigid posture over protests.
Former Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned last year after plagiarism charges and the repercussions of an audience in Congress in December 2023, in which she failed to condemn genocide appeals against Jews as a violation of university policy.
Continues after advertising
Alan Garber, a doctor and economist who assumed Harvard’s presidency after Gay’s departure, has been working to face the controversy. He announced the creation of working groups to combat anti -Semitism and Islamophobia, stating that the university will no longer issue official statements on public issues that no longer impact its main function.
Harvard also implemented disciplinary measures for those who violate their policies, including the ban on students and teachers from accessing the library after silent protests in the past fall, as well as the resignation of a librarian who ripped a poster of Israeli hostages into a pro-Palestinian rally.
The way the university has dealt with anti -Semitism generated criticism from influential donors, such as billionaire Len Blavatnik. Cash donations fell 15%, totaling less than $ 1.2 billion during the fiscal year ended June 30, according to the Harvard financial report.
Continues after advertising
Earlier this month, Harvard announced that he would freeze teachers and staff to preserve financial flexibility until their leaders “better understand how changes in federal policy will be realized and can assess the magnitude of their impact.”
© 2025 Bloomberg LP
