A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The Trump administration says that it's cutting another $450 million in grants to Harvard University. NPR's Elissa Nadworny reports the move came a day after Harvard's president pushed back on government allegations of extreme liberalism and outlined the school's efforts to counter antisemitism on campus.
ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: In the latest escalation between the Trump administration and the world's wealthiest university, a federal antisemitism task force wrote a letter telling Harvard it will lose additional grants from eight federal agencies. This is in addition to 2.2 billion that was already frozen last month, and the announcement from the administration last week that Harvard would be cut off from future federal grants. These latest cuts come in response to a letter the Harvard president, Alan Garber, sent to Linda McMahon, the secretary of education, on Monday. It highlighted what the school had done to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination on campus. Garber also denied allegations that the school was partisan and said the school was, quote, "not an arm of any political party" and would never be. Just a day later, the government issued its response announcing the additional cuts.
The letter is signed by officials at the Education Department, Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration. It claims that Harvard's campus has become, quote, "a breeding ground" for discrimination and that Harvard's leaders have forfeited the school's claim to taxpayer support. The school is suing to block the federal funding freeze and updated its lawsuit to include these recent cuts, reaffirming their concerns that these moves are unlawful and threaten academic freedom and First Amendment rights. The trial is set to begin in July.
Elissa Nadworny, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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