Trump Administration Freezes $2.2 Billion in Harvard Funding After University Defies Demands

The Trump administration has frozen over $2.2 billion in federal grants and $60 million in federal contracts to Harvard University after the institution refused to comply with government demands. Harvard declined to accept the administration's demands, which reportedly included auditing viewpoints of the student body, limiting campus activism, and implementing changes in admissions and campus speech policies. The university asserted that complying with these demands would violate its independence and constitutional rights. The Department of Education announced the freeze on Monday night, marking one of the largest federal funding suspensions imposed on a U.S. university. The move escalates tensions between the federal government and higher education institutions over issues of free speech, protests, and campus policies. Harvard President Alan Garber stated that the demands violated the university's First Amendment rights, emphasizing that it would not "surrender its independence or its constitutional rights." The university maintains its commitment to upholding academic freedom and the rights of its students and faculty.