White House slams Ivy League institutions for 'egregious illegal behavior' amid Trump feud with Harvard

The White House blasted Ivy League institutions for "egregious illegal behavior" as the Trump administration goes head-to-head with Harvard University to install changes to the academic institution’s governance and admissions process. 

After Harvard refused to comply with a series of requests from the Trump administration to reform various practices on campus, the administration revealed Monday that it would freeze more than $2 billion in federal funding for the institution. 

When asked why federal funding is so available to institutions like Harvard, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it’s one President Donald Trump has often brought up himself. 

"It's a question the president has obviously raised in his discussions, in negotiations with not just Harvard, but also Columbia and many other Ivy League institutions," Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. 

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"We have the antisemitism task force, which the president promised and delivered on," Leavitt said. "The antisemitism task forces across the government, representatives from various federal agencies who meet on a weekly basis to discuss the question that you just raised. And I think a lot of Americans are wondering why their tax dollars are going to these universities when they are not only indoctrinating our nation's students, but also allowing such egregious illegal behavior to occur."

However, Harvard University President Alan M. Garber said in a Monday statement that the Trump administration tacked on additional requests that go beyond addressing antisemitism on campus, and the institution would not comply because the demands were unconstitutional.

Specifically, Garber said the new requests "direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard," including auditing viewpoints of student, faculty and staff members on campus, and eliminating all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, offices and initiatives at Harvard. 

"It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner," Garber wrote. "We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement."

The Trump administration’s Department of Justice unveiled the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism in February, which aims to eradicate bias on campuses that have experienced incidents targeting Jewish students since October 2023. 

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The task force evaluates conduct on the following campuses: Columbia University; George Washington University; Harvard University; Johns Hopkins University; New York University; Northwestern University; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Southern California.

"Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges – that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws," the task force said in a statement Monday. "The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable.

"It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support," the statement said.