The Trump administration Friday heightened its pressure on Harvard University, announcing a probe into donations made to the institution from overseas.
The U.S. Department of Education sent a records request to the institution “after a review of the university’s foreign reports revealed incomplete and inaccurate disclosure,” the agency alleged. Federal law requires colleges and universities to disclose foreign gifts and contracts worth $250,000 or more.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon put the move in terms of national security.
“This records request is the Trump Administration’s first step to ensure Harvard is not being manipulated by, or doing the bidding of, foreign entities, which include actors who are hostile to the interests of the United States and American students,” McMahon said.
The Trump administration is also requesting Harvard:
- Turn over all records relating to expelled foreign students or foreign students who have had their Harvard credentials canceled since 2016.
- Provide a list of all visiting or temporary researchers, scholars, students and faculty from or affiliated with foreign governments.
Homeland Security now demanding info on Harvard students
(LAST UPDATE: 4/16): After targeting Harvard University’s federal funding, the Trump administration has turned its attention to the school’s international students.
The Department of Homeland Security is now demanding “detailed records on Harvard’s foreign student visa holders’ illegal and violent activities,” Secretary Kristi Noem announced.
If the university does not provide the info by April 30, it could lose its Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, warned Noem, who also canceled $2.7 million in grants to the university.
“Harvard bending the knee to antisemitism—driven by its spineless leadership—fuels a cesspool of extremist riots and threatens our national security,” Noem said in a sternly worded statement, “With anti-American, pro-Hamas ideology poisoning its campus and classrooms, Harvard’s position as a top institution of higher learning is a distant memory. America demands more from universities entrusted with taxpayer dollars.”
(LAST UPDATE: 4/16): After Harvard’s back-and-forth with the Trump administration earlier this week, President Donald Trump has hinted at seeking to remove the tax-exempt status of the world’s wealthiest university.
“Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?’” President Donald Trump stated in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. “Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!”
On Monday, a joint federal task force on antisemitism froze over $2 billion in multi-year grants and contracts with the Ivy League institution, which had announced earlier in the day that it was rejecting the Trump administration’s demands purportedly aimed at combating antisemitism. Harvard President Alan Garber argued that its “prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government,” and violates the university’s First Amendment rights.
Trump’s ire with the university extends beyond the its handling of protests over the war in Gaza. In a Wednesday Truth Social Post, the president revealed his disdain for its “woke” hiring practices.
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“Many others, like these Leftist dopes, are teaching at Harvard, and because of that, Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be considered on any list of the World’s Great Universities or Colleges,” Trump wrote. “Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds.”
Harvard University boasts the largest endowment among U.S. universities, totaling $52 billion as reported in the 2024 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. However, these funds must be allocated according to the specific wishes of the donors.
The university could ultimately lose billions of dollars over time if it were to lose its tax-exempt status, The New York Times reports.
The following article is a part of University Business’ ongoing coverage of President Donald J. Trump’s impact on higher education during his second term in office. Click here for the latest updates.
