US terminates $60M grant to Harvard over alleged antisemitism
20 May 2025

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has announced that it is terminating $60 million in federal grants to Harvard.

The decision comes after the Ivy League institution allegedly failed to address "antisemitic harassment" and ethnic "discrimination" on its campus.

The termination is part of a larger trend under President Donald Trump's administration, which has frozen or terminated nearly $3 billion in federal funding for Harvard since January.

Trump administration's stance on Harvard's funding
Funding freeze

The Trump administration has been vocal about its intention to use federal research funding as a tool to reshape US academia, which it accuses of being influenced by anti-American, Marxist, and "radical left" ideologies.

Harvard is accused of considering ethnicity in student applications and allowing discrimination against Jews amid the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that shook American campuses last year.

Harvard's response to grant termination and lawsuits
Legal action

The Health Department also announced the termination of multiple multi-year grant awards on X, citing Harvard's failure to address antisemitic harassment and racial discrimination.

Harvard has not yet commented on this development.

The university had previously said it "cannot absorb the entire cost" of frozen grants and is working with researchers to find alternative funding sources.

It is also suing the Trump administration over its decision to cut grants.

Harvard settles lawsuit over antisemitism claims
Lawsuit settlement

Earlier this month, Harvard settled a high-profile lawsuit by an Orthodox Jewish student who alleged the university ignored antisemitism on campus.

This settlement came four months after Harvard promised more protections for Jewish students while resolving two lawsuits claiming it was a hotbed of antisemitism.

Meanwhile, according to a report by Bloomberg News, Harvard University President Alan Garber is seeking alumni support for the institution in three ways: their attention, their voices, and their money.