Trump administration cuts another $450 million in grants to Harvard, on top of $2.2 billion already frozen

By Andy Rose, Michelle Krupa, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration is cutting another $450 million in federal grants to Harvard University – on top of $2.2 billion already slashed – tightening even further its ideological pressure on America’s oldest and wealthiest university amid a broader battle over control of US college campuses.

“(E)ight federal agencies across the government are announcing the termination of approximately $450 million in grants to Harvard, which is in addition to the $2.2 billion that was terminated” previously, the White House’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said Tuesday morning in a statement that called Harvard’s campus “a breeding ground for virtue signaling and discrimination.”

“There is a dark problem on Harvard’s campus, and by prioritizing appeasement over accountability, institutional leaders have forfeited the school’s claim to taxpayer support,” said the statement signed by attorneys for the Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services.

Harvard did not immediately respond to the latest White House declaration. The government task force did not respond to requests for more information on which agencies are freezing funding, instead referring CNN back to the attorneys’ statement.

Harvard is the biggest – but not the only – target in the Trump administration’s broader funding battle against elite educational institutions over a long list of grievances, including diversity initiatives, financial controls and international student admissions. Columbia University and Ohio State – alma mater of Vice President J.D. Vance – are among the other institutions that have lost federal dollars, even after acquiescing to some of the government’s demands.

Billions of dollars in limbo through summer

The Trump administration’s initial freeze on Harvard funding was announced the same day university leadership said they would not agree to several changes requested by the government in an April 11 letter, including “governance and leadership reforms” and an audit of the “viewpoint diversity” of students and employees.

Harvard filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration a week later, telling a judge the government was attempting to “use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decisionmaking at Harvard.”

“The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” university President Alan Garber said at the time. “Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government.”

Both sides are scheduled to give oral arguments in that case in late July, with funding likely to remain frozen until then.

The administration’s initial letter was intended to spark negotiations rather than be a final demand, Education Secretary Linda McMahon told CNBC last month.

Garber wrote a letter to McMahon Monday, saying there may be “common ground” between the school and the administration, but arguing their efforts are being “undermined and threatened by the federal government’s overreach.”

In addition to losing promised funding, Harvard is facing multiple investigations from the Trump administration, accusing the school of potential civil rights violations in its handling of pro-Palestinian protests last year and alleged discrimination by the prestigious Harvard Law Review.

Harvard also facing investigation into hiring and scholarships

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also launched an investigation last month, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Harvard’s efforts to diversify its faculty and scholarships designated for “underrepresented minorities” as examples of potential civil rights violations against White, Asian, male and straight applicants.

Harvard did not directly address those allegations, but when asked for comment, a spokesperson directed CNN to a portion of Garber’s letter to McMahon on Monday.

“We seek the best educators, researchers, and scholars at our schools,” Garber wrote. “We do not have quotas, whether based on race or ethnicity or any other characteristic. We do not employ ideological litmus tests. We do not use diversity, equity, and inclusion statements in our hiring decisions.”

The federal agency’s investigation was launched at the direction of Andrea Lucas, a Republican commissioner who is the acting chair of the panel, The Journal reported.

“Per federal law, the Commission can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation,” Commission spokesperson Brandalyn Bickner told CNN Tuesday.

Commissioners can “charge” investigators to initiate an inquiry independently, without the input of other commissioners.

Lucas and Democrat Kalpana Kotagal are currently the only commissioners remaining in the organization after President Trump fired two other Democrats, Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, from the commission in January.

“Removing me, along with Commissioner Samuels, well before the expiration of our terms is unprecedented and will undermine the efforts of this independent agency to do the important work of protecting employees from discrimination, supporting employers’ compliance efforts, and expanding public awareness and understanding of federal employment laws,” Burrows said in a statement at the time.

Samuels sued the Trump administration last month, asking a judge to restore her place in the commission. The case is still pending.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Jamie Gumbrecht contributed to this report.