The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday announced it is canceling more than $2.7 million in federal grants to Harvard University, marking a major escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on what it calls extremist activity and anti-American ideology on college campuses.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in a sharply worded statement, said Harvard is no longer worthy of taxpayer support.
“Harvard bending the knee to antisemitism — driven by its spineless leadership — fuels a cesspool of extremist riots and threatens our national security,” Noem said.
She added: “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.”
DHS said the canceled grants included $800,303 for a study that “branded conservatives as far-right dissidents in a shockingly skewed study” and $1,934,902 that the department claims “funded Harvard’s public health propaganda.”
“Both undermine America’s values and security,” the agency said.
Noem also sent a letter to the university demanding records related to foreign student visa holders and their alleged involvement in “illegal and violent activities.”
The move comes just days after the Trump administration demanded that Harvard make sweeping changes to campus policies — including its protest guidelines and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs — or risk losing federal funding. Harvard refused.
In a message to students and faculty, Harvard President Alan Garber pushed back hard:
“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,” he said.
That response triggered a broader response from the Trump team. Later the same day, the administration announced it would freeze approximately $2.2 billion in long-term federal funding tied to Harvard.
