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By Anna Commander
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Harvard University defied the Trump administration amid its ongoing demands that the Ivy League school discontinue its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, reform student discipline policies and implement a mask ban, among other requests.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email Monday afternoon for comment.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump and his administration have ripped into Ivy League institutions like Harvard and Columbia in the wake of demonstrations and protests amid Israel's war with Hamas.
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The White House has accused the Ivy League universities of allowing antisemitism on campus grounds. The Trump administration also initially withheld $400 million in federal funds from Columbia and said it would not reinstate funding if the school did not change its policies.
Columbia was the epicenter of campus protests last year amid the war in the Gaza Strip. Students across the country demanded that universities and the federal government sever ties with the Israeli government in protest of its military assaults on Palestinians.
Columbia ultimately caved to Trump's demands last month and announced new measures, like banning masks concealing someone's identity and the hiring of 36 campus officers "who will have the ability to remove individuals from campus and/or arrest them when appropriate."
What To Know
In a letter dated Monday, written by Harvard's legal team, the school hit back at the Trump administration: "The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the government's terms as an agreement in principle."
The lawyers added: "Harvard remains open to dialogue about what the university has done, and is planning to do, to improve the experience of every member of its community. But Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration."
According to CNN, there is nearly $9 billion in federal funding for Harvard now in doubt.
In its missive, the Trump administration also demanded Harvard to update its merit-based hiring and admissions by ceasing "all preferences based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin throughout its hiring, promotion, compensation, and related practices among faculty, staff, and leadership."
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What People Are Saying
Harvard, in a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday: "'No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.' - President Alan Garber"
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont posted to X on Monday: "Congratulations to Harvard for refusing to relinquish its constitutional rights to Trump's authoritarianism. Other universities should follow their lead. And instead of doing pro bono work for Trump, cowardly law firms should be defending those who believe in the rule of law."
Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York posted to X on Monday: "Harvard University has rightfully earned its place as the epitome of the moral and academic rot in higher education. Fueled by the radical groupthink Far Left faculty, inept University leadership, donations by foreign adversaries, and proHamas terrorists, Harvard has fully embraced and tolerated the raging antisemitism threatening the lives and physical safety of Jewish students on campus.
It is time to totally cut off U.S. taxpayer funding to this institution that has failed to live up to its founding motto Veritas. Defund Harvard."
What Happens Next
It is likely the Trump administration will pull federal funding for the university but it is immediately unknown if or when.
Update 04/14/25, 4:27 p.m.: This article was updated with further information and context.
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