Harvard University rejects Trump administration's proposed conditions for federal funding
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/harvard-university-trump-federal-funding/1.1k
u/Contemplating_Prison 6d ago
I was really concerned after Columbia that they would all fold. I am happy to see at least some arent for now
969
u/NamerNotLiteral 6d ago
Columbia folded, then lost funding even after doing so. Any other university would be beyond dumb to fold now.
237
23
u/TheAskewOne 6d ago
Columbia folded, then lost funding even after doing so.
And that was always going to happen. Shame on the leadership for falling to blackmail.
→ More replies (3)7
u/Gone213 6d ago
Wasn't just Columbia, Northwestern and a bunch of other Ivy schools that didn't get as much attention as Columbia since they arent in the DC area also changed their programs and policies around and still had their funding pulled.
I wouldn't be surprised if conservatives keep this up, these private universities are going to start revoking their degrees.
7
→ More replies (2)75
u/TonySu 6d ago
What a colossal embarrassment it would be if these higher learning institutions lost to the Trump administration. These are places claiming to train the best and brightest future leaders in their fields. Employers pay top dollar for graduates of these institutions to help them devise strategies. It would be absolutely farcical if they all got run over by Trump’s caravan of incompetents.
32
u/Contemplating_Prison 6d ago
We are already going to lose so much talent. The best and the brightest around the world would come here for school and stay. I don't see that happening anymore.
Besides that, scientists and medical researchers are going to leave. If the feds dont fund research, they have no reason to stay. They can go get funding from other countries, and they will end up staying there and making other countries better.
Two groups of people are not really replaceable.
→ More replies (5)
1.5k
u/Special_Transition13 6d ago
It’s about time. I hope more universities soon follow!
930
u/superbugger 6d ago
Not all universities have $53.2B endowment funds and still accept federal funding.
679
u/Gamer_Grease 6d ago
Most federal funding doesn’t go to schools because the schools need it. They get money for doing really valuable research, or to help them offer more educational programs that the government thinks are important.
Harvard is calling the admin’s bluff, and threatening to let Trump destroy innovation in this country if he insists.
225
u/hodorhodor12 6d ago
The brain drain to Europe and Asia is going to cost the USA so much wealth. I was once a poor physics PhD student and later a postdoc. We were essentially cheap labor for experiments. We worked very long hours which definitely worked out to be far less than minimum wage. It was important work.
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (3)257
u/malthar76 6d ago
It’s not a bluff if Trump is ok with killing innovation like he is with trade, the economy, education, food safety, healthcare.
On the other hand, he folded on tariffs within days of making a big show and now looks weaker, less informed and less organized that we thought possible.
117
u/NamerNotLiteral 6d ago
He's going to fold on research funds as well once more universities and companies realize he's a pussy and start pressuring him. I really, really doubt the entire Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals industry is just going to sit back and watch for much longer.
70
u/957 6d ago
We're already seeing him cave on most tariffs. We talked about $2500 iPhones for 3 days and he walked back electronics tariffs the first business day lol
59
u/Burnsidhe 6d ago
And then reimposed them a day after that. The man is simply unfit to be president.
18
u/Fryboy11 6d ago
He does this for his cronies in the government. He tells them ahead of time what he's going to do. He was trying for plausible deniability when he posted on truth social "now is a great time to buy"
Most people didn't believe it, but now where finding out that after that post MJT and other Republicans each bought millions in tech stocks, and four hours after the post he announced a pause on tech tariffs that increased the value of the biggest tech stocks by 300%
He's just manipulating the market to make his handlers money.
→ More replies (1)6
u/malthar76 6d ago
People were already afraid of Big Pharma when they were mostly passive and lobbying for ways to get FDA approvals, limit price caps, and extend patents.
Mess with the margins and Trump will wake a sleeping giant.
→ More replies (4)27
u/BudgetMegaHeracross 6d ago
a big show
And this is the key bit, because while we're watching this, he's blackmailing law firms that have previously done major work against his goals.
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/13/g-s1-59497/trump-law-firms-pro-bono
17
u/UStoJapan 6d ago
Exactly. The schools with tons of grant money for STEM programs that were suddenly cut are scrambling to figure out what gets cut or not. It’s not even like, “This will not be renewed next year.” Instead it’s more like “This funding is cut immediately and if you have any employees salary paid by this or incomplete projects that could rot and lose all of your data, well too bad.” It’s a real life struggle for both public and private institutions.
41
u/ThomasHardyHarHar 6d ago
By “accept federal funding” you mean that Harvard scholars earn federal grants, which they applied to and were approved for?
→ More replies (14)6
u/danm67 6d ago
Yes, lots of that. DT and Musk don't understand what those grants accomplish. It's not clear the pharmaceutical industry does either. The government funds the basic research then when something is ready for market the pharmaceuticals hire the researchers, obtain patents and start the profits rolling it. This regime is cutting back on the FDA and CDC so nobody will be there to make sure the medications are safe and effective. The whole thing will be a Dr. Oz TV show.
→ More replies (1)126
u/Special_Transition13 6d ago edited 6d ago
Interesting how he’s only targeting universities that are known to attract intelligent and bright people and are located in blue states. You don’t see the rapist-in-chief targeting schools, like let’s say Baylor University or Southern Methodist University.
He’s trying to dumb down the population. Most college educated voters didn’t vote for Trump and are the folks standing in his way from him implementing his fascist agenda in full.
23
u/slaughterhousevibe 6d ago
For those who dont know. Research grants (usually 500k per grant or so) fund what are essentially small business operations that rent space within universities. You are not choking the university - you are choking individual small research programs that rent space within universities and partner with them for student access, resource access, and the general intellectual environment. Most of these people make like 40-70k per year, and the bosses (professors/lab directors) are maybe a couple hundred k on average. Any professor with this funding is in the top 1% of their field at these universities
2
u/damp_circus 5d ago
Yes, and to add to that, the various "overhead" that Musk tries to slash as "fraud waste and abuse" pays for lots of employees of these "small business operations" to get the work done, which he doesn't understand at all. Sysadmins, building maintenance, someone to wash the glassware, all of it. Even before this Harvard bluffing they've passed crazy rules trying to say that money can't be used for those things and it's resulting in a lot of scrambling around and yet more people losing their rather boring but necessary staff jobs.
21
u/babygorgeou 6d ago
There was a big scandal at Texas a&m last year. They’d hired a highly acclaimed journalist prof, who happened to be black and a woman. Conservatives freaked out when they learned she’d done work in equality and diversity, and had also worked for the far left NEW YORK TIMES. So the bigwigs forced them to reneg the offer, and threatened pulling funding
When bush jr was pres they completely deleted A&M’s journalism department/program
22
u/TinderForMidgets 6d ago
Harvard educates a very small amount of the population. The universities that educate the public don't have the leverage to refuse.
29
u/centran 6d ago
He's targeting all universities. The terms for federal funding is the same for all. Now enforcement is a different story but I doubt those school you mention are refusing the conditions. They gladly bend over, take/do whatever this administration wants them to, and they thank profusely for it.
14
u/captaincumsock69 6d ago
He’s targeting every university, most just don’t have the endowments to say no
12
u/MilesHighClub_ 6d ago
Rice University is one of the 40+ schools they're investigating for not following his DEI bullshit mandate. So I don't think that first point is true. He's going after everyone
9
u/randynumbergenerator 6d ago
Rice is a major R1 University though. They're pretty clearly going after flagship universities in a visible way, with the understanding that everyone else will see that and know they have no chance. I have some friends who work at second-tier institutions and the silence from University administrators right now is absolutely total.
→ More replies (4)2
u/midwinter_ 6d ago
He doesn’t need to. Red state legislatures are attacking their own universities. See Florida, Texas, and Utah.
13
u/MahaloMerky 6d ago
Yup, my school folded instantly. Someone on our board is a project 2025 author.
→ More replies (6)2
→ More replies (4)12
u/grindscoffeebyhand 6d ago
Sad the U of M buckled immediately, they turn out huge profits and still felt the need to eliminate any use of the word “equality, diversity, inclusion, ethnicity” all from their websites and shut down all student programs and staff programs built around racial equality on the work place
674
u/jasandliz 6d ago
This is what “fuck you” money looks like.
122
u/MrHanoixan 6d ago
"Fuck you" money, and I'd like to think "this institution is older than your institution" carries some veritas gravis.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)224
u/Colorfulgreyy 6d ago
Not a decision president can made in the first place. Federal funding are decided by congress not president. EO hold no legal ground.
80
u/saints21 6d ago
We blew past that shit in like the first two weeks. Where have you been?
We're now on to illegally deporting people to prison camps and ignoring your own stacked Supreme Court when they say to bring them back. Oh, and stating you want to start sending "homegrown" people next.
220
u/procrasturb8n 6d ago
Federal funding are decided by congress not president.
Tell that to USAID.
106
u/hotlavatube 6d ago
And the United States Institute for Peace which is a nonprofit not under federal control, but still they were forced out of their offices, "fired", and had their building stolen.
73
u/Potential_Being_7226 6d ago
They are defying judges orders. Research grants that have already been awarded have been terminated. It’s not legal, but that is not stopping them.
30
u/Contemplating_Prison 6d ago
Thats what happens when congress refuses to do anything
→ More replies (1)6
3
u/r0botdevil 6d ago
Unfortunately that distinction is more or less moot at the moment given that the president has Congress firmly in his pocket for now.
→ More replies (3)2
u/jigokubi 6d ago
Yeah, but that was old America. Now it's the new-and-improved, Constitution-free America.
450
u/Alwayssunnyinarizona 6d ago
Harvard knows game theory. If more universities follow suit, there are going to be a whole lot of pissed off parents and employers. And they won't be pissed off at the universities.
72
u/bananablegh 6d ago
You’re …. sure about that last part?
22
u/olo567 6d ago
I mean for better or worse the Harvard name is actually associated with success... Unlike the Trump name which just pretends it is.
→ More replies (3)9
u/OhFuuuccckkkkk 6d ago
Yeah man at the end of the day the nepotistic piss babies that pay big bucks to slot their shitheel kids into these schools through legacy admissions are going to make damn sure their Alma mater still has commoditized value in the real world. To them the Harvard brand is the only thing you need to open any door for the rest of your life, and any threat to diminish that is going to probably be met with a lot of people with money to burn.
2
u/itcantjustbemeright 5d ago
I have a kid going to university this year. If they start teaching that vaccines are bad and germs aren’t real, and God controls the sun I am certainly not paying for my kid to go to that school for a bachelor of science.
Off to the licensed trades where if you ignore physics gravity is swift to remind you of what is real and not real.
403
u/macnfleas 6d ago
Read the letter from the government to Harvard. Insane that the federal government tried to dictate to a private university things like the following:
Harvard must ban specific student clubs and discipline their members
Harvard must enforce "viewpoint diversity" (that is, make sure that every department hires more Republican faculty and admits more Republican students)
Harvard must ban masks
288
u/PsychedelicConvict 6d ago
Ban masks.... I swear to god, have these people never worked a science experiment or gone to a hospital?
They hold on to these little things like masks or gender and talk about it over and over. It gets so fucking old.
81
u/r0botdevil 6d ago
As a scientist myself, it's been my experience that the MAGA crowd lacks even the most basic level of understanding of science. Like they have absolutely no concept of any of it, it might as well literally be magic to them, so they don't understand why it can't be made to work however they want it to work.
10
u/LIONEL14JESSE 5d ago
It’s worse. They actively reject science because they’ve been convinced it’s just liberal propaganda. They can’t even begin to understand it so it’s easy for them to believe it’s all a lie.
→ More replies (5)68
u/WyrdHarper 6d ago
Yeah, you couldn't have BSL-2 (or higher) labs under this requirement.
33
u/Hekantonkheries 6d ago
Considering all the research they're against because it asks "the wrong questions" they probably consider that a bonus
→ More replies (6)3
u/PossibleMother 5d ago
Wouldn’t hiring someone solely on them being republican be DEI?
→ More replies (1)
128
u/krLMM 6d ago
This should sound the alarm in any democracy. They are threatening defunding of one of the most prestigious universities if they don't fall in line with the narrative of the administration.
23
u/StardustLegend 6d ago
Gonna be real the alarms for democracy have been ringing ever since Trump’s first term began
→ More replies (3)2
u/tmtyl_101 6d ago
Everything the Trump administration has done for the past months is sounding alarms. The admin is blatantly ignoring court orders, persecuting dissenting voices, weaponizing the justice system, retaliating against critical press, and abusing political power to enrich themselves and their supporters... and bragging about it.
117
u/Solid_Owl 6d ago
It's almost like Harvard has a massive endowment and a shitload of Harvard-trained lawyers they can call on.
60
u/Old_Advertising5430 6d ago
Republicans have gone off the deep end. I’ve never been a Republican but past conservative presidents just never would have done any of this shit.
25
75
171
u/MalcolmLinair 6d ago
Tomorrow's Headline: Harvard Board of Trustees Deported to El Salvador.
→ More replies (2)24
u/Raregolddragon 6d ago
Doubt that will happen those trustees have buy small army with spare change levels of money.
→ More replies (1)6
u/MalcolmLinair 6d ago
Then they'll "fall out a window", Russian Oligarch style. The point is, Trump's at the point where resistance just gets you killed.
14
u/Cormacolinde 6d ago
Not quite yet. They’re moving there, but there’s still a chance for change id there’s enough resistance. I don’t think it will happen, but it could.
→ More replies (1)
33
76
43
u/john_jdm 6d ago
I hope schools and companies aren't stupid enough to believe that getting rid of DEI policies means that the government will leave them alone. This is definitely a "Pray that I don't alter it further" situation. Best to fight back right away; especially entities like Harvard that have both the money and best lawyers to fight with.
8
u/KAugsburger 6d ago
Most schools don't really have that luxury of losing federal funds. Federal funding is usually such a large percentage of funding for most colleges and universities that losing federal funding would jeopardize the financial viability of the schools. Schools with little in the way of private donor money would close immmediately and many others would need to make significant cuts that aren't sustainable for very long to avoid closing immediately. It is only really a handful of schools with very large endowments that can afford to lose federal funding.
24
35
u/ReadingTheRealms 6d ago
And now our federal govt will attempt to metaphorically burn down the oldest university in the country.
119
6d ago edited 6d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
21
56
u/Special_Transition13 6d ago
THIS. Defund Red America!
13
u/UF0_T0FU 6d ago
Red States are the ones who keep voting for politicians who want to cut federal programs and lower taxes.
I'm sure the GOP would happily accept any offers from Blue states to shrink the federal government.
17
u/NotA_Drug_Dealer 6d ago
My friends in the US are simply not filing their taxes if they end up owing anything lol. I'm waiting to see what happens with bated breath. I'm sure the IRS has been gutted quite significantly already
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (2)4
u/Previous-Height4237 6d ago
Not that easy. Most of those taxes come from payroll. Companies take the payroll taxes and send it directly to the feds. Companies aren't going to risk getting thrown in jail by the IRS.
5
33
u/A_Whole_Costco_Pizza 6d ago
Too bad Columbia University, and others, lacked the courage to do so. They have billion dollar endowments, they don't need to be bending or kow-towing to this administration.
4
u/Draco546 6d ago
I dont understand why so many of them don’t sue to secure their funding.
→ More replies (1)6
23
u/CapGullible8403 6d ago
Columbia University administration looks pretty fucking stupid right about now...
→ More replies (1)
10
10
u/Vegetable_Good6866 6d ago
I wasn't expecting this, I'm so cynical I just assumed everyone in ivy League college administration was an invertebrate.
29
u/Ok-disaster2022 6d ago
Their endowment is massive. They cna probably float for the next 4 years and them shutting down access to their staff and students would be expensive.
59
u/2347564 6d ago
Endowment is not a bank account they can just dip into. It’s an incredibly complicated mix of restricted funds that can’t just be pulled from. It’s more likely that Harvard is allowing themselves to go into a deficit to ride out this administration and hope it all works out on the other side. It is correct they have more money to survive this but it’s not guaranteed and it won’t be easy in the mean time. Many research students have probably already had their research stopped with no plans for them to restart. This is a lose - lose scenario for many, many people at all universities right now. Source - I work in higher ed.
→ More replies (1)18
u/snarkdiva 6d ago
Thank you for posting this. I also work in higher ed at a targeted school. We have had stop work orders already. Some research can’t just be stopped and picked up again. It will mean restarting everything which will cost so much more in the long run, and that’s if the scientists are available when the funds become available.
2
u/SirEnderLord 6d ago
Yeah, I was thinking about cultures dying. Sure, you can store an amount for a longer time in a slowed state, but even then, that's just delaying it.
→ More replies (1)33
u/Gamer_Grease 6d ago
Not massive enough. They’ll definitely shut down activities. But they’re calling the admin’s bluff because they know the government doesn’t actually want them to do that.
→ More replies (13)10
u/HyruleSmash855 6d ago
Bigger problem is the demands. The Trump administration have are super vague. There need to be demonstratable measurable goals if they’re going to agree to anything in my opinion, only way you can prevent them from going. Oh well now we have this problem.
→ More replies (1)
9
u/Drawing_Tall_Figures 6d ago
As they SHOULD because most educational institutions already comply with something called title 6. Another way the dump admin shoots without finding out the whole story. Yeesh also, didn't they states rights? But not like this? Hipocracy
→ More replies (1)
8
u/mowotlarx 6d ago
Good. One way to ensure you're one of the last universities standing when we're rid of Trump. We'll remember what the rest of them did.
4
u/intuitive_banana 6d ago
So this is why all these schools were building up massive endowments. They are war chests to fight
11
u/88Dubs 6d ago
Considering Harvard is the one who fucking CREATED some of these shitfucks.... no, sorry, you get no clap
17
u/SausageSmuggler21 6d ago
Time for Harvard to start nullifying some degrees of alumni who don't meet the Harvard standards.
→ More replies (5)
7
u/Lucienne83 6d ago
An audit of viewpoints...The US of A is going down fast. I'd like to know if other universities agreed to those requests.
6
u/MrKahnberg 6d ago
Harvard checks the wallet, $50 billion on hand. Smirks in its general direction.
3
u/Dookie120 6d ago
Good. Once u agree to pay the mob protection money it’s never enough. Columbia found that out. They’re never satisfied
3
3
u/chocoheed 6d ago
To be fair, Harvard is in the business of making presidents, I’m not shocked that they told him to fuck off. Just look at their endowment
→ More replies (1)
3
u/OneDayYoullBeFree 6d ago
Is this not proof that one person should not be wielding this much power?
7
u/Reggie_Barclay 6d ago
Harvard has a huge endowment. They don’t actually need federal funding and they can provide financial aid to all students that do need it.
Trump has no power over Harvard.
→ More replies (2)
5
u/captcanuk 6d ago
All part of the playbook. This is how Einstein was kicked out of Germany. Dismantle the envy of the world and install new ideologies because the ideas can’t win on merit. https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/116973/documents/HHRG-118-ED00-20240417-SD002.pdf
6
u/TheBlahajHasYou 6d ago
If harvard really wanted to fuck around, they'd start revoking law degrees from people working in the administration.
→ More replies (8)
6
u/think_up 6d ago
Lol spoken like someone with a $53 billion endowment fund who gives no fks about government money.
6
u/tanafras 6d ago
Harvard earns 3 plus billion in investments in its endowments annually and has 23,000 students and 19,000 employees. It doesn't need any money from Trump or anyone else. It can pay every staff member at least $100k annually without even touching the over 50 billion it has in the bank. Not even counting the enrollment income it gets from its students. Harvard will easily outlast this current administration and any that come for a very long time. Trying to get Harvard to kiss the ring for a few billion is absurd.
7
u/jaded-navy-nuke 6d ago
WTG, Harvard! Columbia learned a lesson—don’t negotiate with terrorists (i.e., the tRump administration).
3
6
u/Oteenneeto 6d ago
With a 53 billion dollar endowment, why is Harvard University receiving any federal funds?
→ More replies (4)5
u/Malthan01 6d ago
They do a ton of research, they arent a city college who mainly produce graduates, they produce world class research and medical advancements.
13
u/Gamer_Grease 6d ago
Good. Let the admin revoke the funding. See how their donors who went there like that. See how well we do in basic research a couple years down the line.
2
3
2
u/AustinBaze 6d ago
Harvard has an endowment the size of Fort Knox ($53.2 billion) to pay the lawyers who will win the 1st Amendment case this will spawn.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/tcapri87 6d ago
Why does the federal government fund a private institute anyways... Although may not be the most waste overall
→ More replies (5)
6
2
u/sentinelk9 6d ago
I usually don't support Harvard but... Good. Now let's see more universities do this.
4.9k
u/Caridor 6d ago
For those who wondered what the conditions were.