Federal government severs ties with Ivy League institution
The Trump administration has initiated steps to cancel approximately $100 million in existing federal contracts with Harvard University while directing government agencies to seek alternative vendors for future needs. This decision, outlined in an official letter to federal departments, marks what officials describe as a “complete severance of the government’s longstanding business relationship” with the prestigious institution.
According to documents obtained by The New York Times, agencies have been instructed to submit lists of contract cancellations by June 6. The letter explicitly encourages federal entities to consider non-Harvard vendors for services previously sourced from the university.
Escalating tensions over international student policies
This contractual termination follows recent Homeland Security actions against Harvard’s international student program. Secretary Kristi Noem’s office revoked the university’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification last week, though the measure was temporarily blocked by a federal judge appointed during the Obama administration.
President Trump publicly criticized Harvard’s delayed response in providing foreign student records, alleging the institution might be concealing problematic cases. “We are still waiting for the Foreign Student Lists from Harvard,” Trump posted on social media, questioning whether the university was hiding information about “radicalized lunatics” among its international scholars.
University leadership condemns government actions
Harvard President Alan Garber denounced the administration’s measures as “unlawful and unwarranted,” warning they endanger thousands of students’ academic futures while creating a chilling effect across American higher education. The university maintains the certification revocation constitutes retaliation for resisting policy demands.
“This administration continues its assault on academic freedom,” Garber stated. “No government should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study they can pursue.”
The contract cancellations represent the latest development in an ongoing conflict that began when Harvard refused administration demands, prompting the freezing of $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts earlier this year. President Trump has additionally proposed redirecting $3 billion in federal education funds from Harvard to vocational programs.
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