The Trump administration has expanded its campaign against Harvard University, directing federal agencies to terminate or transition all non-critical contracts with Ivy League schools, which could affect more than $100 million in funding. | Photo credit: Mel Musto/Bloomberg
President Donald Trump’s administration is about to cancel all remaining federal contracts with Harvard University, marking the latest escalation of his battle with the oldest and wealthiest US schools.
In a letter seen by Bloomberg News, Federal Acquisition Services Commissioner Josh Groenbaum directed federal agencies to consider the contract, deemed uncritical and to move to other vendors if necessary. The contract is estimated to be worth an estimated $100 million, according to those with knowledge of the issue that ordered the administration not to discuss its movements.
“The U.S. General Services Agency (GSA) supports all federal agencies in reviewing the termination or transition of federal contracts with Harvard University and affiliates,” the letter states. “This review is in line with the administration’s instructions that all federal contract services will firmly maintain and advance the agency’s strategic priorities.”
This letter, originally reported by the New York Times, asks the agent to report “actions or intended actions relating to each contract referenced” by June 6th.
Harvard did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Trump administration has already frozen funds and is already moving to block Harvard’s ability to register in a fierce battle over the president’s failure to crack down on anti-Semitism and what he has done to include part of his broader campaign against diversity efforts and left-wing bias.
Management officials are putting pressure on schools, including Columbia, Cornell, Northwestern and other elite universities, to implement broad policy changes, raising concerns about academic freedom, freedom of speech and government interference. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered US embassies around the world to suspend schedules for new interviews with students and VISA applicants as the Trump administration considers a more rigorous review of its social media profile.
But Harvard is the forefront and center of the White House campaign, with the administration halting more than $2.6 billion in federal research funding and saying schools will not receive new funds. Trump has also repeatedly called for Harvard to lose its tax-free status. This would have a great financial implication, even for a school’s $53 billion donation.
The government is calling for a series of changes as a condition for continuing economic ties with universities. It reworked its governance, transformed admissions and faculty employment, demanded what the administration calls discriminatory, and stopped officials from recognizing international students who say they are hostile to American values.
The letter argues Harvard University is “continuing to engage in racism, including the admissions process and other areas of student life,” and the government says that “recent events at Harvard University include anti-Semitic behavior that suggests the system has a lack of unsettling concern about the safety and welfare of Jewish students.”
Gruenbaum mentioned allegations of discrimination in Harvard Law Review. The federal task force recently called for a $65,000 fellowship judgement award for protesters who faced criminal charges for attacking Jewish students on campus.
Jewish President Alan Gerber of Harvard University apologised for Harvard’s handling of anti-Semitism on campus and admitted that he prejudiced himself at school. However, he also said the degree of government demands indicates that “the intention is not to cooperate with us to address anti-Semitism.” The university sued the US government over a block on funding cuts and registration of international students. The university last week received a temporary court order preventing the government from enforcing the ban on foreign students.
“The outcome of revoking the visa for international students was disastrous and we had to move quickly,” Gerber told the Harvard Gazette. He said there will be a court hearing this week where Harvard University seeks to extend its restraint order.
Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem argues Harvard’s response to the government’s request to provide information about fraud by foreign students is insufficient.
To regain the program’s accreditation, Harvard was given 72 hours to provide information on six categories of foreign students over the past five years, including videos of people studying abroad in the past five years. Harvard has not yet turned the requested information over.
Trump also threatened to divert billions of dollars from the university to grant funds.
“I’m thinking of stealing a $3 billion grant from the highly anti-Semitic Harvard and handing it over to a trading school across our land,” Trump said in a social media post. “What a great investment for America and it was a terrible need!!”
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Released on May 27, 2025
