Harvard University doesn’t want anyone thinking they’ve surrendered to President Donald Trump. But that’s certainly what it looks like.
Harvard officials are puzzling over “how to strike a deal without compromising [Harvard’s] values or appearing to have capitulated,” according to The New York Times, which spoke with anonymous insiders familiar with the matter. (RELATED: Harvard Goes Down With The DEI Ship)
Harvard University has been locked in a bitter battle with Trump for months. “Battle” might be overstating Harvard’s negotiating position. The Trump administration has launched an assault on multiple fronts. Harvard has little means of redress, beyond staying on the right side of the judiciary.
Harvard is preparing to capitulate. pic.twitter.com/nm4K8XmJ2Y
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) June 24, 2025
The Departments of Education (ED), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a “comprehensive review of federal contracts and grants” of Harvard University in late March. That review included more than $255.6 million in contracts between the university and the federal government, and more than $8.7 billion in multi-year grants to Harvard.
The ED sent a list of demands to the university on April 11. They included “reducing the power held by faculty … more committed to activism than scholarship,” “reducing forms of governance bloat,” and “adopt[ing] and implement[ing] merit-based admissions policies and cease all preferences based on race, color, national origin.”
What might be music to your ears was jarring to Harvard. The university made their bold, likely ill-fated stand on April 14. “The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government,” the university’s official X account stated. Note that “independence,” per Harvard’s definition, means “siphoning taxpayer money without being held to account. Forever.”
The Trump administration has also made an effort to bar international students from attending Harvard, citing the university’s failure to maintain “compliance and commitment to following Federal law.” (RELATED: World’s Wealthiest University Waves White Flag To Trump)
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has long warned that foreign adversaries and competitors take advantage of easy access to American higher education to, among other things, steal technical information and products, exploit expensive research and development to advance their own ambitions, and spread false information for political or other reasons,” reads the executive order.
American education is failing students of every color, kind, and aptitude.
Where are the curricular standards that once produced students whose degrees were worth the price?
And how is Harvard no longer requiring the reading of books? pic.twitter.com/U2t0TN96rf
— Sarah Parshall Perry (@SarahPPerry) June 24, 2025
“We would lose influence all over the world,” said Lawrence H. Summers, former president of Harvard, according to The New York Times. “Instead of being the world’s pre-eminent university, after a few years, Harvard would be just another school.” As for now, federal judges have blocked the Trump administration’s mandates against international students.
Harvard’s paramount concern is likely monetary. It’s no fun opining about academic freedom without billions to buoy your sagging prose. If Harvard officials have been reduced to eking out an optical truce, they know they’ve lost the substance of their war with Trump.
Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatalieIrene03
