Trump Threatens to Defund Harvard Over DEI Policies

May 26, 2025: Trump Freezes $2.2B in Federal Grants to Harvard Over DEI, Threatens Tax-Exempt Status.

The Trump administration has escalated its confrontation with elite universities by targeting Harvard University over its refusal to comply with federal demands to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. In response, the administration has frozen $2.2 billion in research grants and federal contracts and signaled that it may seek to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status through the IRS.

Administration’s Demands and Harvard’s Rejection
The administration issued a formal letter requiring Harvard to terminate all DEI-related initiatives, reform faculty hiring practices, and remove what it called “politicized governance structures.” Harvard publicly rejected the demands, stating that the university “will not compromise its academic values or institutional autonomy under political pressure.”

Following the university’s refusal, federal agencies were instructed to suspend multi-year contracts and pending research grants, and the Justice Department is reportedly reviewing mechanisms for challenging Harvard’s 501(c)(3) designation.

Political Motive and Broader Crackdown
Trump’s campaign has aggressively focused on what it terms “woke indoctrination” across academia, promising to cut funding to universities that maintain DEI programs, implement identity-based hiring, or support what it calls “politicized student activism.”

This action follows earlier moves targeting other Ivy League institutions and public universities, though Harvard has become the highest-profile case, partly due to its symbolic stature and historical federal funding footprint.

The administration claims its crackdown is part of a broader fight against antisemitism and ideological bias, although critics argue the policy is selectively enforced and politically motivated censorship.

Reactions and Potential Legal Battles
Higher education groups and civil liberties organizations have condemned the administration’s actions as an abuse of executive power, warning that federal defunding of academic institutions over ideological disagreements could trigger constitutional challenges under the First Amendment.

Harvard has begun consulting with legal counsel and is expected to pursue litigation if the IRS proceeds with attempts to revoke its tax-exempt status.

The freeze will impact more than 200 research projects, many of which are in science and public health unless it is reversed or blocked by a court order.