Trump cancels federal contracts with Harvard: university president, ‘illegal and unjustified’

New US government offensive against the university: relationship with nine agencies severed. President Garber speaks of a measure that is ‘illegal and harmful to the country’

The clash between President Donald Trump and Harvard University has not subsided. The US administration has cancelled all still active federal contracts with the university, worth an estimated $100 million. This was revealed by the New York Times, which viewed a letter sent by the White House to government agencies, instructing them to ‘find alternative providers’ for future services. A decision that marks a definitive break in relations between the federal government and universities.

The reasons: admissions, anti-Semitism and ideology contrary to national values

The measure is part of an escalation of attacks by the Trump administration, which accuses Harvard of failing to comply with the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that banned the use of the racial factor in admissions criteria. Also at the root, according to Washington, was tolerance of anti-Semitism and the promotion of an ideology deemed hostile to US values. Already in the previous month, 3.2 billion in public funds for the university had been frozen and the possibility of admitting new international students had been blocked.

Garber: ‘Illegal and counterproductive measure for the country’

Harvard President Alan Garber denounced the decision as ‘illegal and unjustified’, warning that it risks jeopardising the academic and scientific future of thousands of students and researchers. The university has already taken legal action to obtain the restoration of funding and the right to accept foreign students, at least partially regained thanks to an order by Federal Judge Allison D. Burroughs.

Contracts Affected: From Public Health to Homeland Security Training

Projects affected by the suspension include collaborations with nine federal agencies. These include a study on the effects of coffee commissioned by the National Institute of Health and a training programme for executives of the Department of Homeland Security. The official government document also mentions the recent award of a Harvard Law Review fellowship to a student involved in a controversial incident during a pro-Palestinian protest.

NPR interview: ‘Cutting research funding is not the answer’

Interviewed by NPR, Garber called the measures ‘disconcerting’ and ‘damaging not only to Harvard, but to the entire country’, recalling that research funding ‘is not a gift’, but resources aimed at projects deemed strategic for the US.

While admitting that there are critical issues that need to be addressed, particularly with regard to freedom of expression and ideological pluralism on campus, Garber questioned the correlation between punitive measures and the fight against anti-Semitism: ‘Cutting research funding does not solve the problem, but harms scientific progress’.

Appeal to academia: ‘We cannot give in’

Garber finally launched an appeal to all American universities: ‘We are here to produce and disseminate knowledge, to form citizens capable of serving the world. If we give up this mission, we will be increasingly exposed to attack. But the answer must not be to give in: we must redouble our efforts, for the good of the nation and the world’.

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