The Trump administration on Monday tried to force Harvard University back to the negotiating table by informing the oldest and richest college of the nation that it is not eligible for new federal subsidies “until they demonstrate responsible management from the university,” said an educational department.
The decision was passed on to the university in a letter from Linda McMahon, the education secretary, the officer of the Education Department told reporters on Monday. The letter was the first important response from the administration since Harvard about threats from President Trump and his team to accumulate billions of dollars from the research financing of the school.
The letter from Mrs. McMahon stipulated that Harvard has to tackle the concern about anti -Semitism on campus, policy that takes into account the breed of a student and complaints of the administration that the university has left for “academic excellence” while employing relatively few conservative faculties.
Harvard officials did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The threat of Monday from Mrs. McMahon suggests that the government can change its tactics against universities or increase them. The first success from administration to top schools dissected existing subsidies from universities – a dramatic step, but a step that also increased the prospect of judicial challenges.
For example, Harvard built up her lawsuit against the government on both the first amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act, which limits how federal agencies work, after the administration has suspended more than $ 2 billion in financing with little warning.
But university leaders throughout the country are private afraid of a more orderly process that would be more difficult to dispute. A general prohibition on subsidy finance against Harvard, or another specific school, could still invite a lawsuit – but a deliberate process, according to some higher education officials, would be more difficult to withstand in court.
Last month the Trump administration Harvard sent a list of requirements that include audition professors for plagiarism, reported to the federal government all international students accused of misconduct and naming an external supervisor to ensure that academic departments were “viewing point diverse”. Since the return to the White House, Mr. Trump one Attack on the elite universities of the nationHe regards his administration as hostile to conservatives and plans to perpetuate liberalism.
The administration has said that the letter was with those requirements sent by accidentBut the fight has continued to escalate. Harvard has sued the administrationaccusing the government of trying to exercise “unprecedented and inappropriate control”. Dr. Alan M. Garber, the president of Harvard, has said that the consequences of the government’s actions would be ‘serious and long -term’.
In the tax year of 2024, federally sponsored research dollars accounted for around 11 percent of Harvard’s income, or around $ 687 million. And although Harvard’s donation is worth more than $ 53 billion, much of that money is limited, which limits how the university can spend it. A permanent freezing of new subsidies could unleash financial damage from Harvard, who has already made contingent plans and wants to raise money through the bond markets.
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