The Trump administration is escalating its pressure campaign against Harvard University, directing federal agencies to cancel approximately $100 million in remaining contracts with the Ivy League institution, according to senior officials familiar with the decision.
The move comes on the heels of a broader withdrawal of federal support. Over $2.6 billion in federal research grants and contracts have already been frozen or canceled, as the administration targets what it has labeled a "very antisemitic" institution. President Donald Trump said Monday he would redirect funding from Harvard to trade schools, adding to what is now a total of roughly $3.2 billion in revoked support.
A draft letter from the General Services Administration obtained by The New York Times instructs all federal agencies to compile and review any contracts with Harvard and to "seek alternative vendors for future services where you had previously considered Harvard." Nine agencies are reportedly affected by the directive, although details on which departments were not immediately available.
"The General Services Administration will send a letter to federal agencies today asking them to identify any contracts with Harvard, and whether they can be canceled or redirected elsewhere," one senior administration official told CNN.
The university, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has pushed back forcefully, saying the administration's moves constitute political retaliation for the school's refusal to comply with various federal demands. These include disclosing the conduct records of foreign students and proving it has diversified ideological perspectives on campus.
"The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights," Harvard President Alan Garber wrote last month, after suing the Trump administration over an earlier freeze on $2.2 billion in grants and contracts.
The administration last week revoked Harvard's certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, effectively blocking its ability to enroll foreign students. That decision has been temporarily stayed pending a federal court status conference scheduled for Tuesday. Harvard described the revocation as "clear retaliation" against the institution's defiance of Washington's ideological mandates.
Trump has additionally floated revoking Harvard's tax-exempt status and cutting another $3 billion in grants, reinforcing the administration's campaign to penalize universities it sees as emblematic of what it calls "liberal wokeism."
