As the federal government continues its standoff over funding for Harvard University, the Department of Homeland Security announced it is canceling $2.7 million in grants and is "declaring it unfit to be entrusted with taxpayer dollars."
The funds were for two programs: the $800,303 Implementation Science for Targeted Violence Prevention grant and the $1,934,902 Blue Campaign Program Evaluation and Violence Advisement grant.
The Trump administration alleged that the Implementation Science for Targeted Violence Prevention grant "branded conservatives as far-right dissidents in a shockingly skewed study," while claiming the Blue Campaign Program Evaluation and Violence Advisement grant "funded Harvard’s public health propaganda."
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“Harvard bending the knee to antisemitism — driven by its spineless leadership — fuels a cesspool of extremist riots and threatens our national security,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “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.”
Earlier this week, Harvard said it would not comply with a list of demands from the Trump administration, which included calls to change its admissions and hiring policies, end all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and audit programs and departments that the administration alleges "fuel antisemitic harassment or reflect ideological capture."
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"The administration’s prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government," Harvard President Alan M. Garber said. "It violates Harvard’s First Amendment rights and exceeds the statutory limits of the government’s authority under Title VI. And it 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."
Additionally, reports surfaced on Wednesday that the Internal Revenue Service is considering whether to revoke the university's tax-exempt status. The New York Times cited three anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The report comes after President Donald Trump called on Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status.
