Trump government takes steps to terminate remaining federal grants allocated to Harvard University
May 27, 2025 at 4:23 PM CDT
The Trump administration has demanded that federal agencies cancel their remaining contracts with Harvard University, valued at approximately $100 million. A government official confirmed this development, as reported first by the New York Times.
On Tuesday, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) sent a letter to agencies, asking them to submit a list of terminated contracts involving Harvard by June 6. The letter, signed by Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of the GSA's Federal Acquisition Service, also encouraged agencies to seek alternative vendors for future services where they had previously considered Harvard.
The push to terminate contracts with the prestigious university is the latest escalation in a long-running dispute between Harvard and the Trump administration. In April, the administration froze over $2.2 billion in contracts and multiyear grants to Harvard due to disagreements over hiring, admissions, and other policies.
The federal antisemitism task force had previously threatened to withhold an additional $450 million in grants from eight federal agencies, in addition to the frozen funding. This followed a letter from Harvard President Alan Garber, who denied the administration's allegations of partisanship and maintained that the university was "not an arm of any political party."
Harvard is currently challenging the funding freeze in court, claiming the administration's actions are unconstitutional and threaten academic freedom and First Amendment rights. A hearing is scheduled for July.
The administration has also taken actions against Harvard's tax-exempt status and revoked its ability to admit international students. However, after the school sued and received a temporary restraining order, it was able to re-admit its international students.
In response to allegations of racial bias, President Garber stated that the university has made significant progress in protecting Jewish students on campus over the past year.
As of the time of publishing, Harvard has not responded to NPR's request for comment regarding the recent demand to cancel federal contracts.
- The government's demand for federal agencies to cancel their contracts with Harvard University, amounting to approximately $100 million, has stirred a debate in the realm of politics, policy-and-legislation, and general-news.
- As part of a long-running dispute, the Trump administration's latest move involves terminating educational contracts with Harvard University, which has been accused of violating hiring, admissions, and other policies.
- The ongoing dispute over funding has led Harvard University to file a court challenge, arguing that the administration's actions infringe upon academic freedom, education, education-and-self-development, and First Amendment rights.
- Amidst these conflicts, lifelong-learning and learning remain crucial for students at Harvard University, who continue to seek knowledge despite the challenges posed by war-and-conflicts and political interferences.
