‘Disastrous mismanagement’ – Trump admin ends Harvard funding

The Trump administration has cut off new federal research grants to Harvard, citing the university’s refusal to adopt merit-based reforms and its numerous antisemitism scandals.

By World Israel News Staff

The Trump administration officially announced that it was suspending research grants to Harvard University, citing the school’s refusal to comply with governmental reforms that would roll back identity-based policies and curriculum.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said that Harvard’s administrative board had engaged in “disastrous mismanagement” of the storied institution.

McMahon wrote in a letter addressed to Harvard University president Alan Garber that the school had not demonstrated that it would responsibly use billions of dollars in taxpayer funding annually.

“Receiving such taxpayer funds is a privilege, not a right,” McMahon wrote.

She noted that Harvard had rejected “common-sense reforms” including “a return to merit-based admissions and hiring, an end to unlawful programs that promote crude identity stereotypes, disciplinary reform and consistent accountability, including for student groups.”

Because Harvard has refused to comply with those reforms, “today’s letter marks the end of new grants for the university,” McMahon wrote.

In a press statement, a university spokesperson appeared to suggest that the school was a victim of government suppression.

The Trump administration was moving to “illegally withhold funding for lifesaving research and innovation in retaliation against Harvard,” the spokesperson claimed.

“Harvard will continue to comply with the law, promote and encourage respect for viewpoint diversity, and combat antisemitism in our community,” the statement added.

“Harvard will also continue to defend against illegal government overreach aimed at stifling research and innovation that make Americans safer and more secure.”

Shortly after the October 7th massacres, anti-Israel and antisemitic protests swept the Ivy League campus.

In late April 2025, President Donald Trump called Harvard “an antisemitic, far-left institution” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“The place is a liberal mess, allowing a certain group of crazed lunatics to enter and exit the classroom, and spew fake anger and hate,” he added.