The Trump administration is asking federal agencies to cancel contracts with Harvard University worth about $100 million, a senior administration official said Tuesday, intensifying the president\u2019s clash with the nation\u2019s oldest and wealthiest university.
\nThe government already has canceled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants for the Ivy League school, which has pushed back on the administration\u2019s demands for changes to several of its policies.
\nA draft letter from the General Services Administration directs agencies to review contracts with the university and seek alternate vendors. The administration plans to send a version of the letter Tuesday, the official said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations.
\nThe New York Times first reported on the letter.
\nPresident Trump has railed against Harvard, calling it a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. The school filed a lawsuit April 21 over the administration\u2019s calls for changes to the university\u2019s leadership, governance and admissions policies. Since then, the administration has slashed the school\u2019s federal funding, moved to cut off enrollment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status.<\/p>\n
The administration has identified about 30 contracts across nine agencies to be reviewed for cancellation, according to another administration official who was not authorized to speak publicly and provided details on the condition of anonymity.
\nThe contracts total roughly $100 million. They include executive training for Department of Homeland Security officials, research on health outcomes related to energy drinks and a contract for graduate student research services.
\nAgencies with contracts that are deemed critical are being directed not to halt them immediately, but to devise a plan to transition to a different vendor other than Harvard.
\nThe letter applies only to federal contracts with Harvard and not its remaining research grants.<\/p>\n
Trump laid into Harvard on social media over the weekend, threatening to cut an additional $3 billion in federal grants and give it to trade schools across the United States. He did not explain which grants he was referring to or how they could be reallocated.
\nThe president also accused Harvard of refusing to release the names of its foreign students. In a new line of attack, he argued that students\u2019 home countries pay nothing toward their education and that some of the countries are \u201cnot at all friendly to the United States.\u201d International students are not eligible for federal financial aid, but Harvard offers its own aid to foreign and domestic students alike.
\n\u201cWe are still waiting for the Foreign Student Lists from Harvard so that we can determine, after a ridiculous expenditure of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, how many radicalized lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country,\u201d Trump said on social media.
\nIt wasn\u2019t clear exactly what he was demanding. The federal government already has access to visa information and other records on foreign students at Harvard and other universities.
\nThe Department of Homeland Security has demanded that Harvard turn over a trove of files related to its foreign students, including disciplinary records and records related to \u201cdangerous or violent activity.\u201d
\nHarvard says it complied, but the agency said its response fell short and moved to revoke the university\u2019s ability to enroll foreign students. A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the move after Harvard sued.<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s government said Tuesday that it\u2019s looking for ways to help Harvard\u2019s foreign students. Education Minister Toshiko Abe told reporters she planned to ask Japanese universities to compile measures to support international students.
\nThe University of Tokyo, Japan\u2019s top school, is considering temporarily accepting some Harvard students hit by the Trump sanctions.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration’s move to cut $100 million in federal contracts for Harvard University has significant implications for the university and its students. The administration’s actions are part of a broader effort to exert pressure on the university to change its policies, and the university has pushed back with a lawsuit. The situation is complex and multifaceted, with international implications and potential consequences for students, research, and the academic community as a whole.<\/p>\n
Q: How much in federal contracts is the Trump administration seeking to cut from Harvard University?
\nA: The Trump administration is seeking to cut approximately $100 million in federal contracts from Harvard University.
\nQ: What types of contracts are being targeted?
\nA: The contracts include executive training for Department of Homeland Security officials, research on health outcomes related to energy drinks, and a contract for graduate student research services.
\nQ: Has Harvard University responded to the administration’s actions?
\nA: Yes, Harvard University has filed a lawsuit against the administration over its demands for changes to the university’s leadership, governance, and admissions policies.
\nQ: Are other countries responding to the situation?
\nA: Yes, Japan’s government has announced that it is looking for ways to help Harvard’s foreign students, and the University of Tokyo is considering temporarily accepting some Harvard students hit by the Trump sanctions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trump Administration Moves to Cut $100 Million in Federal Contracts for Harvard Introduction to the Conflict The Trump administration is asking federal agencies to cancel contracts with Harvard University worth about $100 million, a senior administration official said Tuesday, intensifying the president\u2019s clash with the nation\u2019s oldest and wealthiest university. The government already has canceled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15471","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/a85eddf\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3900x2048+0+252\/resize\/1200x630!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F31%2Fc8%2Fda3b618f95b4afa54cfce0190350%2Fa895c6b374d541ed9cbbf325f4bbd36a","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15471"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15471"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15473,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15471\/revisions\/15473"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}