Trump "reviewing" $9 billion grant to Harvard over antisemitism concerns

The Trump administration has launched a "comprehensive review" of $9 billion in federal funding for Harvard University due to concerns that the university failed to adequately protect Jewish students from antisemitic attacks, according to a report today (Monday) by the Washington Examiner.

President Donald Trump promised to clamp down on the failure of universities to protect Jewish students during the "tentifada" on college campuses, a wave of protests, encampments, and hostile actions taken by activist students following October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza.

The tentifada included multiple acts of vandalism, takeovers of college buildings, and acts of harassment and threatening actions towards Jewish students.

The protests led not only to widespread condemnation of the actions on the right but even Congressional hearings, in which Congresswoman Elise Stefanik grilled the Presidents of Harvard, Penn, and MIT on whether calling for the genocide of Jews constituted behavior worthy of school discipline. Not one said yes.

In its official statement on the matter, the Department of Education said that:

"The Task Force will review the more than $255.6 million in contracts between Harvard University, its affiliates and the Federal Government. The review also includes the more than $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments to Harvard University and its affiliates to ensure the university is in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities. 

“Harvard has served as a symbol of the American Dream for generations – the pinnacle aspiration for students all over the world to work hard and earn admission to the storied institution,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination - all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry - has put its reputation in serious jeopardy. Harvard can right these wrongs and restore itself to a campus dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, where all students feel safe on its campus.”