Harvard under sanctions: Trump freezes $2.2 billion for refusal to comply – Rezazade

The Donald Trump administration has officially frozen more than $2.2 billion in federal funding for Harvard University after the higher education institution refused to comply with the White House’s demands to reform its governance, student recruitment and personnel policies.

The decision marked the first open conflict between the administration and a higher education institution amid the White House’s broad campaign against what they say is “radical leftist ideology” and “anti-Semitism” on US campuses.

Ali Reza Rezazadeh, the first vice president of the Iranian opposition in the US, said that the situation surrounding Harvard bears all the hallmarks of “open administrative pressure” and “politicization of education.”

“This is a dangerous precedent. The authorities are trying to use financial leverage to impose ideological control over academic institutions. Such actions undermine the foundations of university autonomy and the principles of free speech,” Rezazade said in a commentary from Washington.

On Friday, Harvard received a letter of demands from the departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and the General Services Administration. The demands included changes to admissions policies, the repeal of DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) policies, and submission to federal oversight of the university’s internal processes. Harvard refused, calling the demands illegal, unconstitutional, and beyond the authority of any administration.

Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in an open letter: “No government—regardless of party affiliation—should dictate to private universities what to teach, whom to admit or hire, or what areas of research to pursue.”

In response, the White House announced an immediate freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and another $60 million in contract funds. White House spokesman Harrison Fields explained: “No university has an automatic right to federal funding. If Harvard violates the Civil Rights Act, it cannot receive taxpayer money.”

According to Ali Reza Rezazadeh, this is the beginning of a large-scale breakdown in the model of relations between the state and the academic community. “Previously, science and education were a space for partnership, not political coercion. If such a practice spreads, not only universities will suffer, but also the country as a whole — losing leadership in science, technology, medicine,” he noted.