US President, Donald Trump’s administration is ordering federal agencies to cancel all remaining contracts with Harvard University—worth approximately $100 million—marking the latest move in its escalating battle against the Ivy League institution.
“We recommend that your agency terminate for convenience each contract that it determines has failed to meet its standards,” wrote Josh Gruenbaum of the General Services Administration in a Tuesday letter to procurement officials.
Gruenbaum also signed an earlier April letter that laid out demands on Harvard’s governance and curriculum—demands the university rejected.
As first reported by The New York Times, the $100 million cut follows $2.65 billion in previously frozen federal funds.
The White House is also reviewing an additional $9 billion in multi-year grants and contracts pledged to Harvard.
The letter repeated longstanding allegations, including that Harvard “continues to engage in race discrimination” in admissions—a reference to the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling.
It also criticized the school for a “disturbing lack of concern for the safety and wellbeing of Jewish students.”
The university has resisted many of the government’s demands.
These include turning over international students’ conduct records and allowing audits to confirm it promotes “viewpoint diversity.”
Despite this, Harvard says it is complying with the Supreme Court ruling and has taken steps to address antisemitism on campus.
“I don’t know fully what the motivations are, but I do know that there are people who are fighting a cultural battle,” said Harvard President Alan Garber in a recent NPR interview.
“They don’t like what’s happened to campuses, and sometimes they don’t like what we represent.”
The Department of Education has warned colleges about possible consequences for failing to protect Jewish students.
It has also threatened funding over the use of race in student life.
Harvard filed a lawsuit last month over the freeze of $2.2 billion in funding.
The administration later suspended another $450 million.
Last week, it revoked Harvard’s authority to enroll international students—a decision now on hold after a judge intervened.
Harvard has called that action “clear retaliation” for rejecting politically driven federal demands.
Trump has also threatened to cut off another $3 billion and revoke the school’s tax-exempt status.
(CNN)
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