Harvard defends ‘core principles’ against Trump threats

The Ivy League institution has responded to the US government’s anti-Semitism concerns

Harvard University will not compromise its “core, legally protected principles,” despite a looming grant suspension by the US Department of Education, university president, Alan Garber, has said. Garber cited a “strategy to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry” in a letter published on Monday.

In a letter posted on X last week Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon accused the university of “serious failures” in anti-Semitism, racial discrimination, academic rigor, and viewpoint diversity. “Harvard University has made a mockery of this country’s higher education system,” the secretary wrote, saying that it “should no longer seek” federal funding “since none will be provided.”

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White House halts new grants for Harvard

US President Donald Trump’s administration is reviewing nearly $9 billion in federal funding for Harvard amid intensive pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Last month, the White House called for changes to governance, hiring and admissions and the elimination of all DEI programs at Harvard in a letter it later claimed was “unauthorized.”

The elite Ivy League university rejected the demands, accusing the White House of attempting to “control” its campus. The university filed a lawsuit over the suspension of approximately $2.3 billion in funding and reaffirmed its commitment to addressing discrimination internally.

READ MORE: Trump team explains letter to Harvard – NYT

In Monday’s letter, Garber said Harvard’s reform efforts were being “undermined and threatened by the federal government’s overreach into the constitutional freedoms of private universities and its continuing disregard of Harvard’s compliance with the law.” He added that the university was pursuing necessary reforms in line with its values and legal obligations.

“But Harvard will not surrender its core, legally-protected principles out of fear of unfounded retaliation by the federal government,” Garber wrote.

Garber also rejected claims of partisanship, adding that he had seen no evidence suggesting international students are “more prone to disruption, violence, or other misconduct” than their peers.