The Trump presidency took a one-two blow to two of the most popular Ivy League institutions in the region this year, yanking, suspending, and putting under assessment billions of dollars worth of governmental grants and contracts.
With that, a total of four Ivy League universities have been targeted in the last fortnight by the administration, which has cited several problems, including prevalent hatred, diversity, equity and inclusion-based prejudice, and women’s rights problems.
On Monday, the Education Department, Health and Human Services, and General Services Administration announced their mutual task force will examine “more than$ 8.7 billion in multi-year grant agreements to Harvard University and its members to ensure the school is in compliance with federal laws, including its civil rights tasks”.
” 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. 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”, Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated.
On Tuesday, Princeton announced the Trump administration had suspended several dozen federal research grants to the university.
At Princeton, the grants originated from several federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and NASA, according to an email to the campus community Tuesday from Princeton’s President Christopher Eisgruber.
” The full rationale for this action is not yet clear, but I want to be clear about the principles that will guide our response. Princeton University will comply with the law”, he said in the email.
” We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism. Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University”.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a” White House official said it was a proactive pause in funding pending an investigation into alleged antisemitism”.
Harvard and Princeton now join Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania as fellow Ivy League campuses facing shelved federal grants. These institutions reportedly receive much more federal research funding than others.
” The federal government will collaborate with relevant contracting agencies to assess whether Stop Work Orders should be issued for any identified contracts. Additionally, Harvard has been directed to submit a comprehensive list of all contracts—both direct and through affiliates—between their institution and the federal government that were not included in the initial review”, the task force stated.
The New York Times reported that Princeton’s most recent financial report showed it received$ 455 million through government grants and contracts in the fiscal year that ended in June 2024, roughly 18 percent of the university’s revenues.
Conservative Princeton Professor Robert P. George told the New York Times the administration will likely face lawsuits over its actions.
” If the government’s going to take action against any university, not just Princeton, we have to be sure they’re following the proper procedures”, George said. ” … I believe that the protection of academic freedom is crucial to the mission of the university”.
At the University of Pennsylvania, the administration is withholding$ 175 million due to the school’s failure to ban men from women’s sports, it was announced mid-March.
And Columbia University announced recently it will implement a laundry list of policy changes to appease the Trump administration’s concerns over rampant antisemitism at the school and to work to restore$ 400 million in federal funding.
MORE: Trump admin pauses$ 175 million in UPenn funding over men in women’s sports
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: A picture of the Harvard University campus, Jorge Salcedo / Shutterstock
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