An article from Harvard University faces $9B federal funding review

The investigation into the Ivy League institution is the largest yet by the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.

Published March 31, 2025 Laura Spitalniak Editor

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A view of a gate to Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University on July 8, 2020, in Cambridge, Mass. Maddie Meyer via Getty Images Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.

The Trump administration is reviewing billions of dollars in federal grants and contracts to Harvard University over what it claimed was a failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitism, according to a Monday announcement.

President Donald Trump's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is investigating the Ivy League institution to ensure it is "in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities." The announcement came from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. General Services Administration.

Under review are $255.6 million in contracts and $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments to Harvard and its affiliates, the largest sum yet that the task force has targeted. 

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“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," U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. "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.”

The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

When the Trump administration announced a similar probe into Columbia University on March 3, it took just four days before the federal government withdrew $400 million in funds from the Ivy League institution. 

Citing “substantial financial uncertainties” caused by the Trump administration's recent months vis-a-vis federal funding, Harvard enacted a universitywide hiring freeze earlier this month. 

At the time, senior university leaders said they were making the move to "preserve our financial flexibility until we better understand how changes in federal policy will take shape and can assess the scale of their impact."

The federal antisemitism task force isn't the only way the Trump administration is attacking higher education funding. The Education Department has canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts and the National Institutes of Health has moved to significantly limit how much institutions can be reimbursed for indirect costs related to research.

This month, HHS and the U.S. Department of Defense also cancelled $175 million in federal funding at the University of Pennsylvania, alleging the institution's athletics participation policies violate the White House's ban on transgender women playing on sports teams aligning with their gender identity. The university disputes that assessment.  

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