Harvard University and the federal government once shared a moral vision based on common values, and this was a mutually beneficial relationship. But those days are gone. Accordingly, the Trump administration’s decision to sever financial ties with Harvard is justified and necessary.
President Donald Trump’s administration signaled its intention on Tuesday to end remaining contracts with Harvard, worth an estimated $100 million to the university. The General Services Administration sent a letter to federal agencies directing them to scrap contracts with Harvard that the GSA has deemed unnecessary and seek alternative vendors for future services, including medical research and educational programs. According to one administration official, the directive is a “complete severance of the government’s longstanding business relationship with Harvard.”
This latest move comes after the administration froze some $3.2 billion in grants and contracts with Harvard earlier this year. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also moved last week to end Harvard’s ability to enroll international students, who account for 27% of the student body.
It didn’t have to come to this, but Harvard’s defiant decision to remain a discriminatory, antisemitic, and baldly anti-American institution gave Trump no alternative but to enforce federal laws and do his duty to curb actively divisive ideologies.
Recent revelations make plain Harvard’s determination to disobey federal law at the expense of its long-standing relationship with the federal government.
The Harvard Law Review Fellowship Award was given to a pair of protesters charged with assaulting a Jewish student, Yoav Segev, during an anti-Israel protest in October 2023. The fellowship, intended for recent Harvard Law School graduates “with a demonstrated interest in serving the public interest through their work and scholarship,” was awarded to Ibrahim Bharmal and Elom Tettey-Tamaklo. During their assault, the two confronted Segev and covered him with keffiyehs while shouting “Shame! Shame! Shame!” as he tried to wrest himself free. Such people deserve punishment, not reward.
There is also ample evidence that Harvard hiring is steeped in unacceptable prejudice and discrimination. A trove of internal documents obtained by City Journal shows that Harvard’s racial favoritism in filling vacancies in the faculty and administration violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Harvard provides committee chairmen access to “self-identified demographic data, including gender, race, and ethnicity,” and encourages them to “use this information to promote diversity in the applicant pool, long list, and short list.” The Trump administration is right to cut off an institution that so breaks the law and is determined to continue doing so.
Harvard’s race-based admissions practices defy the Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. The statistical evidence for this is overwhelming. The university’s 2025 admissions rates, 56% acceptance for African Americans versus 13% for Asians in the top academic decile, are those of an institution that must forfeit its privileged relationship with the federal government.
HIGHER EDUCATION NEEDS A NEW VISION OF LEADERSHIP
Harvard has the right to do this. It is a private institution; it is free to chart its own course, even if it embraces divisive ideologies and discriminatory practices. But it cannot expect to continue enjoying the benefits of federal funding, too. It cannot have its cake and eat it. Harvard can take the route of Hillsdale College by freeing itself from government regulations of any kind. Its massive endowment of $53.2 billion (as of June 2024), its massive donor base, and its unmatched brand would make this transition possible, even easy. However, it must follow federal law if it hopes to receive taxpayer dollars or provide services to the federal government.
Trump is right to pin Harvard to the mat. The university has forfeited its privileged position.