The Trump administration is preparing to cancel all remaining federal contracts with Harvard University, worth an estimated $100 million, according to a report by The New York Times. A letter instructs federal agencies to “find alternative vendors” for future services.
The move marks a complete severance of the government’s longstanding relationship with the prestigious institution, an administration official told NYT. It follows an earlier freeze of $3.2 billion in grants and contracts and efforts to restrict Harvard’s enrollment of international students.
The escalating measures are seen as part of the administration’s broader attempt to undermine Harvard’s financial standing and global stature. Agencies with contracts that are deemed critical are being directed not to halt them immediately, but to devise a plan to transition to a different vendor other than Harvard. The letter applies only to federal contracts with Harvard and not its remaining research grants.
President Donald Trump has railed against Harvard in an intensifying clash with the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, calling it a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. Harvard filed a lawsuit April 21 over the administration’s calls for changes to the university’s leadership, governance and admissions policies. Since then the administration has slashed the school’s federal funding, moved to cut off enrollment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status.
(With inputs from agencies)