Harvard rejects Trump administration's demands as showdown intensifies

WASHINGTON

Harvard University vowed Monday to fight reforms demanded by the Trump administration, which has threatened to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding to pressure the nation's wealthiest university to limit student protests and eliminate diversity programs.

University President Alan Garber said in a letter to the school's community that while some of the Trump administration's demands "are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard." That includes a demand to "audit" the views of the student body, faculty, and staff and "reduc(e) the power" of certain individuals because of their ideological views.

Garber said the administration has been informed through the university's attorneys that Harvard will not accept the agreement it proposed and "will not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights."

The Trump administration's proposal, he said, "threatens our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge."

"No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue," said Garber.

"We proceed now, as always, with the conviction that the fearless and unfettered pursuit of truth liberates humanity—and with faith in the enduring promise that America’s colleges and universities hold for our country and our world," he added.

Harvard's defiance comes as the Trump administration seeks to force schools across the country to eliminate diversity programs and restrict student-led pro-Palestinian protests.

An April 11 letter sent by senior Trump administration officials to Harvard laid out a proposal for the school to adopt in order to "maintain Harvard’s financial relationship with the federal government." The demands include investigations into student-led protests against Israel's war on Gaza, as well as suspensions for students who occupied school buildings "as warranted by the facts of individual cases."

It further called for a crackdown on student groups who participate in pro-Palestine demonstrations and for the implementation of a masking ban on campus with "immediate penalties" to include suspension from school at a minimum.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders lauded the school's stance, saying on X that the school is "refusing to relinquish its constitutional rights to Trump’s authoritarianism."

"Other universities should follow their lead. And instead of doing pro bono work for Trump, cowardly law firms should be defending those who believe in the rule of law," he said.