President Donald Trump escalated his administration's clash with Harvard University on Monday, demanding the names and nationalities of the school's international students while threatening to divert $3 billion in federal grant funding to trade schools. The move comes days after a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration from stripping the university of its ability to enroll students from overseas.
"We want to know who those foreign students are, a reasonable request since we give Harvard BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, but Harvard isn't exactly forthcoming," Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social. "We want those names and countries." In a follow-up post Monday, he added: "Harvard is very slow in the presentation of these documents, and probably for good reason!"
The dispute centers on Harvard's compliance with data requests from the Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a May letter that the university lost the "privilege" to host international students due to its "refusal to comply with multiple requests" for information about visa holders. Those requests included disciplinary histories, protest involvement, coursework, and whether any students posed threats to campus safety.
Harvard filed suit against the administration last week, calling the demands unconstitutional and lacking legal authority. "This revocation is a blatant violation of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act," the university argued in its complaint. The school claimed the government was retaliating against Harvard for rejecting earlier demands related to its governance, faculty, and campus policies on diversity and antisemitism.
A federal judge granted Harvard a temporary restraining order on May 23, ruling that the university would "sustain immediate and irreparable injury" if the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification were revoked. A court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
The Department of Homeland Security already operates the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which tracks foreign students enrolled at U.S. institutions. Despite this, Noem gave Harvard 72 hours to provide detailed records or risk losing certification to host international students.
Harvard has stated it complied with the required SEVP data and criticized the scope and legality of the administration's broader demands. "Despite the unprecedented nature and scope of the April 16 demand, and the lack of any clear authority for most of the requests, Harvard worked diligently to collect and produce the information it is required to maintain and report under the SEVP program," the university said.
Trump's latest salvo included a proposal to shift Harvard's federal grant funding to vocational institutions. "I am considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land," he wrote Monday. "What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!"
While the president likely lacks the unilateral authority to reallocate earmarked federal research funds, the rhetoric mirrors campaign trail proposals to bolster apprenticeships and vocational education amid declining enrollment in four-year institutions.
