Federal Government Freezes $2.2 Billion Funding to Harvard After It Refuses to Comply

The university accused the federal government of trying to impose ‘direct governmental regulation’ on its academic programs.

People walk through the gate on Harvard Yard at the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Mass., on June 29, 2023. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

The federal government announced on April 14 that it is freezing $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard after the university said it would not comply with the Trump administration’s demands to dismantle diversity programs and limit student protests.

Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a campus-wide message earlier on April 14 that “the University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.”