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The Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal funds to Harvard on Monday after the university stated that it would not comply with demands to combat antisemitism.
The Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism released a statement blasting Harvard’s refusal.
“Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges – that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws,” the task force said.
“The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable,” it continued. “The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support.”
According to a report by The New York Times, the Trump administration previously halted over $1 billion in federal funding to Cornell and $790 million to Northwestern as part of civil rights investigations into the universities.
Both investigations focus on allegations of antisemitic activity or failure to protect Jewish students and are under evaluation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
The move follows a pause in federal funding to Princeton, Columbia, Harvard and Penn, with approximately 60 universities receiving letters over concerns about the safety of Jewish students.
The actions also follow a statement by President Donald Trump on Truth Social last month saying that he would stop funding for colleges allowing illegal protests.
“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote.
The post came after the Trump administration warned that it could stop $51 million in contracts with Columbia University in New York over protests that harassed Jewish students.
“Anti-Semitism – like racism – is a spiritual and moral malady that sickens societies and kills people with lethalities comparable to history’s most deadly plagues,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement.
“Unlawful encampments and demonstrations have completely paralyzed day-to-day campus operations, depriving Jewish students of learning opportunities to which they are entitled,” new Secretary of Education Linda McMahon added.