Harvard's Resistance to Trump Could Mark a 'Turning Point'

Academics, alumni, Democratic lawmakers, and former President Obama are backing Harvard's costly decision to resist what it says is "direct governmental regulation" of intellectual conditions at the university. Obama, a graduate of Harvard Law School, blasted the Trump administration's "unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom" in a statement Monday, saying he hoped other institutions would follow Harvard's lead, per USA Today. More reactions and analysis:

• The cost: The White House quickly responded by freezing $2.2 billion in grants as well as $60 million in contracts for the university, which collects $9 billion in federal funding each year. The Trump administration says it wants to eliminate "woke" ideology, diversity efforts, and antisemitism on campus.

• The demands: But Harvard University President Alan Garber said new demands made clear "the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner," per Bloomberg. The Trump administration had reportedly ordered a ban on face masks, an end to DEI programs, changes to university governance and admissions, and limits to the "power" of community members with certain ideological views, per USA Today and Bloomberg.
• 'Beyond the lawful authority': In a letter, Harvard lawyers William Burck, an outside ethics adviser to the Trump Organization, and Robert Hur, the former special counsel who called President Biden an "elderly man with a poor memory," say "Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration," per the New York Times.
• 'Orwellian': Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, co-president of the Council on Academic Freedom, says it's "truly Orwellian" for the government to force its viewpoint on the university, per the Times. "Will this government force the economics department to hire Marxists or the psychology department to hire Jungians or, for that matter, for the medical school to hire homeopaths or Native American healers?" he asks.

• Ready for a fight: Harvard is the nation's oldest and richest university, with a $53.2 billion endowment in 2024, meaning it has "more financial power than others to weather a potential legal and political fight," per Bloomberg. A fight is exactly what the administration wants in order "to continue arguing that the left has become synonymous with antisemitism, elitism, and suppression of free speech," per the Times. But Obama argues Harvard is already working to ensure "an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate, and mutual respect" for all, per USA Today.
• Domino effect: Harvard's stance has "injected energy into other universities across the country fearful of the president's wrath," per the Times. Columbia University, which agreed to administration demands last month rather than lose $400 million in federal funding, said Monday that it would "reject any agreement that would require us to relinquish our independence and autonomy as an educational institution" or "in which the government dictates what we teach, research, or who we hire," per Bloomberg.
• A big deal: J. Michael Luttig, a prominent former federal appeals court judge, viewed Harvard's stance as being of "momentous significance," per the Times. "This should be the turning point in the president's rampage against American institutions," he says.

(More Harvard University stories.)