The Trump administration is urging federal agencies to cancel contracts worth around $100 million (88 million euros) with Harvard University, strengthening presidential clashes with the country’s oldest and wealthiest university.
The government has already cancelled more than $2.6 billion (2.2 billion euros) in the Federal Research Grants from Ivy League Schools, pushing the administration’s demands for changes to its policy.
A letter sent by the General Services Bureau, which oversees federal contracts and real estate, directed the institutions looking to contract with the university and seek alternative arrangements.
The New York Times was first reported early Tuesday.
President Donald Trump opposes Harvard and calls it a breeding ground for liberalism and anti-Semitism.
The school filed a lawsuit on April 21 over the administration’s demand for changes to university leadership, governance and admissions policies.
Since then, the administration has significantly cut school federal funds and moved to block international student registrations, threatening tax-free status.
The contract includes scientific research and executive training
According to administrative officials who are not allowed to publicly speak about the administration’s agenda, the administration has identified around 30 contracts in nine agencies being reviewed for cancellations.
The contract includes executive training for Department of Homeland Security officials, research into health outcomes related to energy drinks, and contracts for graduate students’ research services.
Institutions with contracts deemed critical are instructed to devise plans to move to another vendor other than Harvard, rather than immediately suspending them.
This letter applies only to federal contracts with Harvard, with no remaining research grants.
Trump threatens to divert Harvard funds
Trump opposed Harvard on social media over the weekend, threatening to cut another $3 billion (2.6 billion euros) with federal grants and hand it over to trade schools across the United States.
He did not explain which grants were referring to or how they would be reassigned.
The president also accused Harvard of refusing to release the names of international students. In the new attack, he argued that the student’s home countries paid nothing for their education, and that some countries were “not friendly to the United States at all.”
International students are not eligible for federal financial aid, but Harvard offers its own aid to foreigners and domestic students alike.
“We’re still waiting for Harvard’s foreign student list, so after billions of dollars of ridiculous spending, we’ll be able to decide how many radical madmen, troublemakers, not to return to our country,” Trump said on social media.
It was not clear what the president was referring to. The federal government already has access to Visa information and other records about foreign students at Harvard and other universities.
The Department of Homeland Security requires Harvard University to hand over a herd of files relating to foreign students, including disciplinary records and records related to “dangerous or violent activities.”
Harvard says it complied, but the agency said it lacked its response and moved to revoke the university’s ability to register foreign students. A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the move after Harvard University sued.
Other countries respond
The Japanese government said Tuesday it was looking for ways to help foreign students at Harvard. Prime Minister Abe, Minister of Education, said he planned to ask reporters to ask Japanese universities to compile measures to support international students.
The University of Tokyo, Japan’s top school, is considering temporarily accepting Harvard students who have been hit by Trump’s sanctions.
Universities in other countries are making similar moves, including two in Hong Kong, which recently expanded their invitations to Harvard students.
On Harvard University’s campus, law student Carson Durdel said he is proud of the university by standing up to Trump. He said intellectual independence has historically strengthened the United States.
“That’s why we’re like beacons in other parts of the world,” he said. “I think damaging these things, cutting them off, is not just a bad short-term view, but a scary long-term view.”
