A standoff is escalating between the Trump administration and some of the most powerful academic institutions in the US, as the White House pushes for sweeping campus reforms—and backs its demands with billions in frozen federal funding.
Harvard University has emerged as ground zero in this battle, with over $2 billion in grants and contracts frozen after refusing to comply with Trump’s sweeping conditions. The administration wants universities to eliminate DEI programs, ban face coverings during protests, switch to merit-based hiring and admissions, and scale back what it calls “activist” faculty and administration structures.
The Trump administration insists its demands aim to combat antisemitism and what it calls “illegal and immoral discrimination” on campus. Critics argue the freeze is politically motivated and may not survive legal scrutiny.
Harvard calls the freeze punitive and illegal
Former Harvard President and Treasury Secretary Larry Summers called the funding halt a “frontal,” “punitive,” and “unlawful” move. Speaking to CNN, he said, “One should not comply with a government that is being extra-lawful… that’s not a reason why the government can entirely suspend the law and make up self-serving political demands and impose them on universities.”
Columbia walks a careful line: compliance with conditions, but no full agreement
Columbia University was hit earlier with a $400 million freeze and received specific conditions from the White House—including enforcing protest rules, banning masks, holding student groups accountable, and reviewing Middle East studies.
After some back-and-forth, Columbia’s board endorsed changes aligned with these goals.
“We are committed to creating a better environment on campus… building on the progress and ideas outlined today will help us achieve these goals,” said Columbia Trustees.
Still, the acting President, Claire Shipman, pushed back on full compliance.
“We would reject any ‘heavy-handed orchestration’… where the government dictates what we teach, research, or who we hire,” Claire Shipman, Acting President, Columbia
Princeton warns of authoritarian overreach, refuses to yield
Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber was unequivocal in his response.
“Princeton stands with Harvard,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post, calling Trump’s actions “the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s.”
The administration has suspended $210 million in federal research grants from agencies, including NASA and the Defense Department, and an additional $4 million in climate funding has also been halted.
Stanford, Yale faculty express support for academic independence
Stanford University’s leadership issued a statement of support for Harvard.
At Yale, faculty members called on their administration to “resist and legally challenge any unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and… self-governance.”
Cornell and Northwestern caught off guard as $1.7B frozen
Cornell University and Northwestern University also found themselves in the crosshairs last week, with more than $1.7 billion in total federal funding frozen. According to a White House official, the action is tied to “credible and concerning” Title VI investigations related to discrimination.
Cornell received over 75 stop-work orders and said it learned of the freeze only through media reports.
“We are actively seeking information from federal officials to learn more about the basis for these decisions,” Cornell University statement
Northwestern, which also had $790 million frozen, emphasized the stakes:
“Federal funds that Northwestern receives drive innovative and life-saving research… This type of research is now at jeopardy,” noted Northwestern University in a statement.
