The Trump administration has dramatically escalated its pressure campaign against Harvard University, opening a new and powerful front in its ongoing war with the nation’s oldest university – federal student aid.
In a one-two punch on Friday, the Department of Education announced it is choking off the school’s direct access to federal student aid reimbursements and has given the university a 20-day deadline to comply with a federal civil rights investigation.
This move takes the conflict beyond the realm of research grants and patents and into the pocketbooks of students and families. It is a significant escalation in a constitutional battle that pits the federal government’s immense financial power against the academic freedom and independence of a premier American institution.
At a Glance: The New Sanctions on Harvard
- What’s Happening: The Trump administration’s Department of Education has placed Harvard on “heightened cash monitoring” for federal student aid and threatened further penalties.
- The Student Aid Impact: Harvard must now use its own money to pay for student loans and grants upfront and wait for government reimbursement, a tactic usually reserved for financially struggling schools.
- The Civil Rights Threat: The administration also gave Harvard a 20-day deadline to provide detailed information for a civil rights investigation into its admissions process and campus antisemitism, or risk further financial sanctions.
- The Administration’s Stance: Officials claim the moves are necessary to protect taxpayers due to “material concerns about [Harvard’s] financial health” and the school’s alleged stonewalling of investigations.
- The Constitutional Issue: A major test of the federal government’s Spending Clause power to attach conditions to federal funds, and the First Amendment principles of academic freedom and protection from what a judge previously called “ideologically-motivated” retaliation.
A New Financial Squeeze
In a move typically used for smaller, often for-profit colleges with shaky finances, the Education Department has placed Harvard – with its $53 billion endowment – on a list for “heightened cash monitoring.”
This is a significant bureaucratic sanction. It means that instead of receiving federal student aid funds in advance, Harvard must now pay for students’ federal loans and Pell grants out of its own pocket and then apply for reimbursement from the government.
The administration is also demanding that Harvard post a $36 million letter of credit, a form of financial protection, to “ensure taxpayer funds are not at risk.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon justified the move by citing “material concerns about [Harvard’s] financial health,” pointing to the university’s own disclosures that its ongoing legal battles with the federal government could harm its finances.
‘What Are They Hiding?’: The Civil Rights Investigation
The second, and perhaps more significant, action is a direct threat tied to two ongoing civil rights investigations. The Department of Education has given Harvard a 20-day deadline to turn over detailed information related to:
- The university’s compliance with federal law regarding campus antisemitism.
- An investigation into whether the school illegally considers race in its admissions process.
The department claims that over 500 pages of documents already provided by Harvard were “deficient or wholly unresponsive.”
“The Department has both the right and responsibility to verify Harvard’s compliance with federal civil rights laws. For all their claims, they refuse to provide evidence necessary for the Department to make that determination. What are they hiding?” – Education Secretary Linda McMahon
Failure to comply with this deadline, the letter warns, could result in additional financial penalties.
The Constitutional Power of the Purse
This multi-pronged strategy is a powerful display of the federal government’s authority under the Constitution’s Spending Clause.
Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power to tax and spend for the “general Welfare.” Through this power, it creates programs like federal student aid. A core tenet of this power is the ability to attach conditions to the money. To receive federal student aid dollars, a university must agree to comply with federal laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination and harassment.
The administration argues it is simply using its legal and regulatory authority to enforce these existing conditions.
A ‘Smokescreen’ for a Political Fight?
This new pressure campaign comes just weeks after a federal judge, Allison Burroughs, delivered a blistering rebuke to the administration in a related case.
She ruled that the White House’s previous attempt to freeze $2 billion in Harvard research funding was illegal, calling the administration’s stated reason of fighting antisemitism a “smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault.” She found the action was likely retaliation for the university’s exercise of its First Amendment rights.
“To any fair-minded observer, it is clear that Harvard University failed to protect their students from harassment and allowed discrimination to plague their campus for years.” – White House spokesperson Liz Huston
The White House has dismissed that ruling, calling Judge Burroughs an “activist Obama-appointed judge” and has vowed to appeal. This new front in the battle, targeting student aid, is a clear signal that the administration has no intention of backing down.
A New Front in the Campus Wars
The Trump administration’s fight with Harvard is about more than just one university. It is the focal point of a national battle over the future of higher education.
While other elite universities like Columbia and Brown have agreed to multi-million-dollar settlements to restore their federal funding, Harvard has chosen to fight back in court.
The administration’s latest move – to directly threaten the financial aid that thousands of students rely on – dramatically raises the stakes. It is a clear and powerful message to every university in America: fall in line, or your funding could be next.