Trump Administration v. Harvard: A Clash Over Foreign Ties and Campus Protests

The Trump administration has intensified its scrutiny of Harvard University's foreign funding and ties amid a broader crackdown on U.S. universities. Claiming incomplete disclosures, the administration threatened implications including withholding federal funding and taxation status adjustments. Harvard and others stand accused of hosting anti-Israel protests camouflaged as free speech.

The Trump administration has expanded its investigation into Harvard University's foreign funding and affiliations in what appears to be a significant broadside against the prestigious institution. On Friday, the administration demanded a decade's worth of records detailing Harvard's interactions with foreign sources, amid allegations of incomplete disclosures between 2014 and 2019.

This move is part of a larger campaign targeting elite U.S. universities over various cultural issues. These include campus protests advocating Palestinian rights and challenging equity and inclusion programs—controversies that President Trump has leveraged to threaten universities with funding cuts. Civil rights advocates have denounced these actions as suppressive to free speech and academic independence.

Harvard, alongside several other universities, faces a potential freeze on federal contracts and grants totalling $9 billion. The Trump administration accuses Harvard protesters of presenting threats to U.S. foreign policy and pursues sanctions including visa revocations of international students involved in these movements.

(With inputs from agencies.)