The Trump administration will direct US federal agencies to review their grants to Harvard University to potentially end or redistribute funding, as part of the White House’s escalating battle with America’s oldest university.
The Government Services Agency (GSA) plans to circulate a letter to agencies “asking them to identify any contracts with Harvard, and whether they can be cancelled or redirected elsewhere”, a senior White House official said.
The administration estimates about 30 contracts, collectively worth $100m (£74m), could be up for review.
Harvard University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On its website, the university says that its “cutting-edge medical, scientific, and technological research” has historically been “supported by the federal government” and other entities.
Touting the institution’s research on cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases, and obesity, the university website warns that “without federal funding, this work will come to a halt midstream”.
The White House will not revoke the funds automatically, but rather kick off a review of money Harvard receives from the federal government to determine whether that funding is critical in the eyes of the administration.
GSA will recommend each agency “terminate for convenience each contract that it determines has failed to meet its standards”, and consider reallocating those funds to other entities.
A draft of the letter accuses Harvard of engaging in discrimination and antisemitism as justification for the move.
An administration official told the BBC that potential cuts would not impact hospitals affiliated with Harvard University.
And if a federal grant was deemed critical to a particular agency’s functions, they said, that agency could make a case for continued funding.
The White House and Harvard have been locked in a political, legal and financial battle – the stakes of which have dramatically escalated over the past two months.
This is not the first time the administration has attempted to block Harvard’s funding. In April, the White House froze $2.2bn in federal funding, prompting the university to sue.
“Why cut off research funding? Sure, it hurts Harvard, but it hurts the country because after all, the research funding is not a gift,” Harvard University president Alan Garber told NPR on Tuesday morning, before news broke of the latest attempt at cuts.
“The research funding is given to universities and other research institutions to carry out work – research work – that the federal government designates as high-priority work,” Mr Garber continued.
“It is work that they want done. They are paying to have that work conducted.”
Last week, the Trump administration also revoked Harvard’s ability to enrol international students or host foreign researchers, prompting mass confusion among thousands of impacted students.
Harvard again sued the Trump administration over that policy, alleging that it had violated the university’s constitutional First Amendment rights as well as federal law.