The United States government has terminated an additional $60 million in federal grants to Harvard University, citing the Ivy League institution’s alleged failure to address anti-Semitism and race discrimination on campus.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it was withdrawing support for multiple multi-year grant awards to the university.
“Due to Harvard University’s continued failure to address anti-Semitic harassment and race discrimination, HHS is terminating multiple multi-year grant awards – totalling approximately $60 million over their full duration,” the statement read. It added that “federal funds must support institutions that protect all students.”
The decision marks the latest development in a growing rift between the Trump administration and one of America’s most prestigious academic institutions.
The administration has already frozen more than $2.2 billion in research and education grants to Harvard in recent months. Earlier this month, Education Secretary Linda McMahon declared in a letter that the university had “made a mockery of higher education,” and would no longer receive federal research funding.
“Harvard will cease to be a publicly funded institution and can instead operate as a privately-funded institution, drawing on its colossal endowment and raising money from its large base of wealthy alumni,” McMahon stated.
In response, Harvard filed a lawsuit challenging the funding freeze, claiming that it violates the First Amendment and federal statutes that prevent presidential interference in IRS audits or investigations.
Harvard President Alan Garber announced last week that the university would allocate $250 million from its endowment to maintain ongoing research projects.
The standoff between the Trump administration and Harvard began in March, following a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests on elite university campuses across the US. The demonstrations were largely in opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza and alleged human rights violations, including accusations of genocide.
President Trump has denounced the protests as “illegal” and characterised them as anti-Semitic. Student organisers, however, maintain that their demonstrations were peaceful and aimed at highlighting civilian suffering in Gaza.
In April, the administration froze its first round of funding to Harvard after the university declined to comply with a set of federal directives. These included overhauling its disciplinary framework, ending diversity initiatives, and submitting to an external audit of programmes flagged as anti-Semitic.
Conservative critics have long accused Harvard and other elite universities of promoting liberal ideologies and suppressing conservative viewpoints.
