The administration of US President Donald Trump has escalated its campaign against Harvard University, imposing new restrictions on the Ivy League university's ability to access federal student aid funds, reports "Reuters".
The reason for this is concerns about the "financial condition" of the oldest and richest university in the United States.
The Department of Education said it has placed Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harvard under "enhanced cash monitoring" status. This is a change from the typical practice that would force him to use his own funds to distribute federal student aid before drawing funds from the department.
Trump has cracked down on universities and threatened to cut federal funding on a range of issues, such as pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel's assault on Gaza, transgender policies, climate initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
In addition, the Department of Education is seeking to have Harvard issue a $36 million letter of credit to ensure it meets its financial obligations. The letter said recent events have raised concerns about Harvard’s finances, given its decision to issue bonds and make cuts amid its conflict with the White House.
The Department of Education warned that Harvard was at risk of losing access to all federal student aid funding if it did not comply with requests for documents from the Office for Civil Rights, which in a separate letter warned it could take enforcement action.
The office is reviewing whether Harvard still considers race in its undergraduate admissions process, even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that affirmative action practices that schools rely on to boost enrollment among racial minorities are illegal.
In July, the government settled its federal investigations with Columbia University, which agreed to pay more than $220 million to the government, as well as and Brown University, which said it would pay $50 million to support local workforce development. Both universities have agreed to certain government demands.
The Trump administration is also seeking a settlement with Harvard. Trump has said the university must pay "no less than $500 million."
Separately, the government has offered to settle its investigation into the University of California, Los Angeles by paying the university $1 billion. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the offer an attempt at extortion. In August, the government froze nearly $600 million in funding for the university.