Harvard University rejects Trump demand on DEI, imperils funding

Harvard University on Monday rejected demands by the Trump administration to eliminate its DEI programs and screening international students for ideological concerns, putting nearly $9 billion in federal funding for the university at risk.

“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,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a note to the university community.

“Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard,” Garber said.

Harvard’s rejection comes after the Trump administration sent Harvard a list of demands as part of its review of nearly $9 billion in government funding for the school.

The administration demanded the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and called for screening international students for purported support of terrorism, anti-semitism and hostility to “the American values and institutions inscribed in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.”

The White House has zeroed in on colleges and universities as part of its crackdown on DEI programs nationwide.

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